Nonprofits bring the Internet to low-income families in KC, KCK

When youre living off disability checks and buying groceries with food stamps, theres not much room in the budget for even the bargain-basement plans Internet service providers offer.

But now comes KC Freedom Network.

Since last fall, a consortium of nonprofit groups has been trying to bridge the digital divide by building what, for Kansas City, is a new kind of Internet service. One that for now is absolutely free to the 1,000 people who already can get it in Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan.

The key: While most Internet service providers deliver the Net to homes via copper or, in Googles case, fiber optic cable, KC Freedom Network has gone airborne.

With microwave dishes and Wi-Fi systems, it uses the airwaves to connect people who might not otherwise have broadband Internet service.

As far as the projects backers are concerned, there is no limit on how big the KC Freedom Network will get.

Not that the big guys are sweating it.

A spokeswoman for Google says there are big differences between the quality of Internet service her company provides and that of efforts like KC Freedom Network, but Google welcomes the effort all the same.

Its great that Kansas City nonprofits are working to get their neighbors online, Jenna Wandres said. The more groups who are thinking about the digital divide and working on locally driven solutions, the better.

KC Freedom Networks effort to achieve better access for KCs core is seen by some as an exciting experiment.

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Nonprofits bring the Internet to low-income families in KC, KCK