A non-profit, a fixed wireless access provider and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) have worked together to provide high-speed internet to residents of four public housing developments in Cleveland, Ohio.
DigitalC is a nonprofit organization focused on closing the digital divide in Cleveland. As part of its work, DigitalC created EmpowerCLE+ to provide fixed wireless access (FWA) technology.
For its part, Meta provided investment funds for the project, although the company declined to specify the dollar amount of its investment.
The deployment will support about 1,100 households with low-cost, high-speed internet, costing subscribers $18 per month.
The parties cite a U.S. Census Bureau 2019 American Community Survey that finds Cleveland lags when it comes to residential access to broadband, ranking last among U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau shows Cleveland ranks highest for the number of residents living in poverty (30.8%), which includes nearly half of Cleveland’s children (46.1%).
Sharon Jordan, DigitalC’s interim CEO, said in a statement, “Our partnership with Meta will allow us to help bridge the digital divide in Cleveland by expanding affordable internet access to more people in need.”
For the project, EmpowerCLE+ deployed a hybrid mix of fiber and wireless to support internet service to the buildings. The FWA part of the project used millimeter wave spectrum, according to a spokesperson. “There are access points inside the buildings connected directly to the middle mile,” she said.
Starry
DigitalC didn’t answer a question about whether EmpowerCLE+’s technology was similar to Starry’s.
Starry uses 802.11-based technology adapted for licensed frequencies in millimeter wave spectrum, namely 24 GHz and 37 GHz. The spectrum is known for its fast speeds.
Starry recently said that it will launch its seventh market, Las Vegas, later this year. It’s currently in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Denver, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio.
There’s quite a lot of activity in the FWA space right now with both Verizon and T-Mobile using the extra capacity of their spectrum to offer home broadband service. But the big wireless carriers are being careful to not overload the capacity of their mobile networks with FWA services. They’re safest in rural areas where FWA services won’t drain the capacity of their 4G and 5G mobile offerings.
Because Starry uses mmWave spectrum, it has access to a lot of large channels and a lot of capacity. The company focuses on dense urban areas.
Starry co-founder and CEO Chet Kanojia recently told Fierce the big difference between Starry and entities like Verizon and T-Mobile is “we are centered on capacity and speed, not just speed,” he said. Considering that broadband consumption is growing 30% a year, “you’re going to need capacity where people are.”