One of the best things about working at Case Western Reserve University is that it has been very forward-looking and supportive in providing technology to serve the needs of its students, employees, and the community.
In the early days of the internet CWRU, with its Freenet system, was the first in the nation to provide free internet access to anyone who had a dial-up modem. It later was the first university campus to have an entirely fiber-optic network going to every office, classroom, and dorm room on the campus.
In partnerships with other local non-profit groups, CWRU has been expanding access to free broadband access to city dwellers. This video (admittedly also a plug for the university) shows a new initiative to provide free gigabit broadband fiber-optic network access to the campus community and an adjacent neighborhood to research what kinds of new uses might emerge, with an eye to expanding the reach of the network.
That sounds like a promising idea by the university. Finding new ways to limit use of power and using the internet for a safer neighbor hood. Cant wait to learn how this new ideas work out.
Wow, this video takes me back. The lady (Pitter) at approximately 35 seconds in to the video was my wife’s landlord for 3 years when she lived in Hessler (by far the best neighborhood in Cleveland). Great to see that neighborhood got hooked up. I’m curious about my old building, Parkside Dwellings, right across Stearns Rd. from the back of the quad. The owner of that building had always wanted to get it hooked up to the CWRU network. Anyway, great to see the community outreach.