Technology & Innovation

Digital Inclusion

Cities across America are facing the social issue of digital divide and the City of Long Beach is proud of its efforts in going beyond this conversation and instead is focusing on digital inclusion.  Digital divide conversations tend to focus only on the access available to individuals, whereas we believe digital inclusion is meant to signal a focus on a practical approach that addresses the needs of our community as a whole.

The City of Long Beach has been designated as a Digital Inclusion Trailblazer by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and our approach to promote digital inclusion is through a compilation of the following:

1. Public Access to Technology
2. Access to Digital Content
3. Digital Literacy
4. Programs and Services

The following consists of some of the items that the City of Long Beach is currently performing to bridge efforts for digital inclusion.

1. The City’s Technology & Innovation Commission is conducting research on underserved populations in order to provide insight into strategies to close the digital divide. As part of this, we want to know how residents access the internet.

2. Most City residents are within 1 mile of City Provided Wi-Fi

• While the City does not provide broadband access for in-home use, the City does provide access to free Wi-Fi through all Library Branches and select parks.

• The attached map represents the estimated locations of City provided Wi-Fi access points.

• The City of Long Beach continues to look at innovative approaches and partnerships to provide more access to broadband resources.

3. The City offers a total of 327 Public Access PC’s within our Public Library System

• The City prides itself in providing access to PC’s serving our community.

4. All 12 City Libraries have been upgraded to an ultrafast 1 Gigabyte Broadband Connection

• Over the past year, the Technology & Innovation Department has worked to bring high-speed broadband to all City of Long Beach’s Library Branches.  By connecting these public spaces to CalREN, a high-capacity 3,800-mile fiber optic network operated by CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California.  Because libraries are central to their communities, this service will allow Long Beach Library Branches to effectively provide the public with high-performance access to resources that constitute 21st century digital citizenship and the benefits of a digitally empowered population.

5. 22 City Parks have City provided free public Wi-Fi access

6. City Library Branches offer computer and coding training classes both in-person and online, in both English and Spanish

7. Implementation of the “UpLink” smart corridor project to expand public Wi-Fi access and security cameras along Atlantic Avenue between Jordan High School and Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library

• Along the Atlantic Corridor, there are five new Wi-Fi access points, which can support up to 200 simultaneous users. Users can connect for up to 60 minutes of the Wi-Fi service, and can continue their usage indie the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library using the Library's Wi-Fi service.

• UpLink is the direct result of the 2015 Participatory Budgeting initiative, which gave 9th District residents the power to decide how to spend a one-time infrastructure funds.