Queensbridge Connected Wi-Fi Network Receives Digital Inclusion Leadership Award At Broadband Summit

New Haven, CT May 3, 2017

The Queensbridge Connected, Community-Wide Wi-Fi network model, implemented at Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, NY, received the Digital Inclusion Award this Tuesday at the Broadband Communities Summit. In attendance at the Broadband Summit were Joshua Breitbart, Senior Advisor for Broadband at Office of the Mayor New York City, Alfonso Jenkins, Deputy Commissioner for Telecommunications Planning at New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications and Dick Sherwin, President and CEO of Spot On Networks. Breitbart and Jenkins accepted the award which was awarded by Next Century Cities in partnership with Google Fiber.

The Queensbridge Connected model is the first collaboration between the City of New York’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT) and the City’s public housing authority (NYCHA). Queensbridge Connected is a part of the OneNYC Broadband Initiative’s promise to invest “in networks providing high-speed residential access either free or at low-cost for low-income communities”.

Spot On Networks was awarded the Queensbridge Houses contract by the City of New York to design, build, implement and support the Queensbridge Connected community-wide Wi-Fi network in 2016. The Network provides free high speed Wi-Fi internet and Wi-Fi calling access with speeds up to 25 Mbps and seamless connectivity throughout the community. Furthering the mission to “Bridge the Digital Divide”, Spot On has hired and trained residents within Queensbridge Houses to assist in building, supporting and promoting the Queensbridge Connected network. The model of employing residents to make Queensbridge Connected a reality has proven essential to the success of the project.

“We are proud to have been chosen as the Wi-Fi service provider for Queensbridge Houses”, stated Dick Sherwin, President & CEO of Spot On Networks, “and we stand firmly with New York City on the importance of ‘Broadband for All’ and ‘Bridging the Digital Divide’. The City of New York is clearly the leader on community-wide Digital Inclusion. We at Spot On Networks believe that the Queensbridge Connected Wi-Fi network is the ideal model for future community-wide broadband networks in the affordable housing sector.”

About the Digital Inclusion Leadership Award

The Digital Inclusion Leadership Awards program is given by Next Century Cities in partnership with Google Fiber. According to a press release on the Next Century Cities website, “These awards celebrate city and county governments that are leading programs or empowering community-based organizations to tackle barriers to Internet adoption. The awards are an opportunity to celebrate the cities that are leading community changing programs and encourage public leaders to get involved in digital inclusion by sharing best practices”.

About Spot On Networks

Spot On Networks (“SON”) is a wireless internet service provider and wireless consulting company representing tens of thousands of residential and commercial tenants, nationwide. SON designs, deploys and manages carrier grade Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Calling and CellBoost® networks to multifamily, senior living, hospitality, retail and commercial buildings. Spot On’s wireless networks are backed by patented network architecture and UserSafe® technology.

SON is the leading provider of managed Wi-Fi networks and in-building voice solutions to the U.S. multitenant housing market and is a trusted leader in wireless since 2004. SON develops wireless solutions to solve the most pressing problems facing today’s building owners.

FCC Designates Spot On Networks As A Lifeline Broadband Provider

Spot On Networks receives Federal Communications Commission approval for its petition seeking designation as a Lifeline Broadband Provider

NEW HAVEN, CT (PRWEB) DECEMBER 05, 2016

Spot On Networks (“SON”) has been designated as a Lifeline Broadband Provider (“LBP”) by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) after filing a petition earlier in the year. The FCC Order was adopted on December 1, 2016 and granted LBP designation to four broadband providers including Spot On Networks (Spot On), LLC.

Lifeline Broadband Providers are eligible to be reimbursed through the Lifeline program for Broadband Internet Access Services they are providing to eligible qualifying subscribers. SON initially applied for designation as a LBP due to its being chosen as the Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) for the New York Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) Queensbridge Houses multifamily housing development located in Long Island City, NY. NYCHA Queensbridge is the largest affordable housing development in the United States with 3,149 units and an estimated 7,000 residents across 26 clusters of 95 buildings in two adjacent complexes.

“We are thrilled that the FCC has designated Spot On Networks as a Lifeline Broadband Provider so that we can continue to provide our Wireless Internet Services to all who need Internet access,” stated Spot On Networks CEO, Richard “Dick” Sherwin. Sherwin continued, “The Lifeline Program offers an avenue for companies like ours to provide Internet services where they are most needed and protects consumers from being priced-out of essential broadband services. Additionally, with the implementation of WiFi Calling, residents of buildings with poor cellular services get the added benefit of voice services using smartphones. We are honored to be a part of this program.”

Lifeline Broadband is an expansion of the FCC’s Lifeline Assistance program which helps to make communications services more affordable for those in need. Initially the Lifeline program, established in 1985, focused primarily on telephone services but has been expanded to include cellphones and now internet services. To be designated as an LBP, an applicant needs to meet service standards, function in emergency situations and meet technical and financial requirements among other requirements. SON has a long-standing reputation in the multifamily industry as being the largest and most trusted provider of managed, carrier-grade, high speed wireless access and has differentiated itself by using in-house network management, monitoring and support services as well as designing networks that are customized to the needs of a building and its residents.

In his statement regarding the reform and modernization of the Lifeline program, Chairman Tom Wheeler stated, “In modernizing the program, we were guided by the principles of competition and choice. Reforms are designated to encourage more providers to participate in the program so that competition in the marketplace can increase the value of the subsidy and provide choices for consumers”. SON has long supported the FCC’s efforts to modernize the Lifeline Program in today’s digital age where the average American relies primarily on their smartphone and Internet access for communication, education and work.

About Spot On Networks

Spot On Networks (“SON”) is a wireless internet service provider and wireless consulting company representing tens of thousands of residential and commercial tenants nationwide. SON designs, deploys and manages carrier grade WiFi, WiFi Calling and CellBoost® networks to multifamily, senior living, hospitality, retail and commercial buildings. Spot On’s wireless networks are backed by patent-pending network architecture and UserSafe® technology.

SON is the leading provider of managed WiFi networks and in-building voice solutions to the U.S. multitenant housing market and is a trusted leader in wireless since 2004. SON develops WiFi-backed solutions to solve the most pressing problems facing today’s building owners.