Free high-speed Wi-Fi internet service in the City of Albany

ABOUT ALLBANY ONLINE

· Albany FreeNet is a free high-speed Wi-Fi internet service provided in the City of Albany by Tech Valley Communications, a privately owned telecommunications company.

· In August 2009, Tech Valley Communications received a Universal Broadband Access Grant from New York State to expand Albany FreeNet in the Arbor Hill, West Hill, South End and Delaware Avenue neighborhoods where Internet adoption is lowest.

· The Universal Broadband Access Grant program also provides for:
o Site-based digital literacy classes at designated “Community Technology Centers” (CTC) including the Albany Public Library Main Branch (161 Washington Avenue) and Department of Youth & Workforce Services (175 Central Avenue).
o Site based “Metrix” online job training orientation & skill assessments at CTCs.
o Free 90-day Metrix e-learning licenses.
o Community services registry at www.ALLbanyOnline.com
o Low cost Wi-Fi enabled desktop computer systems.

· Albany FreeNet and the services above are offered as part of ALLbany Online, an ongoing collaboration between private, municipal and non-profit agencies to increase broadband access, usability and utility in the City of Albany.

· Albany FreeNet is comprised of many small but powerful radios that broadcast a WiFi signal. WiFi is the dominant global standard for wireless Ethernet. One of the biggest benefits of Wi-Fi is that it's already built into many laptops, smart phones and other devices.

· Any WiFi enabled device with an Internet browser can connect to the Internet via Albany FreeNet.

· Albany FreeNet is available 24/7 at speeds up to 1.5Mbps x 1Mbps. There is no limit on how long Albany FreeNet can be used, but there is a 200MB daily data limit. A user can sign on as many times as they like anytime between 12am and 11:59pm each day until their total data usage (downloads and uploads) for that day reaches 200MB.

· There were 73,000 user sessions on Albany FreeNet for the three-month period January 2011 to April 2011, with an average session length of 3.6 hours.

*Coverage as of June 2010. Exact coverage areas may vary.