T-Mobile grant will help RFPL provide more hotspots

Posted 9/27/22

RIVER FALLS – River Falls Public Library is the recipient of a $17,800 T-Mobile Hometown Grant which will be used to provide additional hotspots for checkout by library card holders at no cost. The …

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T-Mobile grant will help RFPL provide more hotspots

Posted

RIVER FALLS – River Falls Public Library is the recipient of a $17,800 T-Mobile Hometown Grant which will be used to provide additional hotspots for checkout by library card holders at no cost. The money will be used to provide library card holders with access to connectivity with hot spot devices and free wi-fi service for commu nity use at the library.

“Since the pandemic, the demand for internet access and awareness of the information divide has increase substantially,” said Library Director Tanya Misselt in the grant application. “This is true both in and around the City of River Falls. Sadly, 14.8% of family households in the City of River Falls live in poverty (U.S. Census 2021).”

Misselt provided some statistics in her grant application: In the City of River Falls, 2,038 households (population is 16,000) do not have broadband internet.

In the River Falls School District, 19% of students report they come from a low-income family.

In Pierce and St. Croix counties, 17,000 households are without broadband internet.

“While there are nation- wide euorts to expand broad band infrastructure, it is not yet available in many rural areas,” Misselt said. “It may take years to develop that infrastructure. Even after proper infrastructure is developed, the service cost will continue to be out of reach for low-income households. Many of those households will continue to rely on the library for hotspots.”

Currently, RFPL circulates 26 hotspots on two T-Mobile accounts from three sources of funding. Local government funds 11 hotspots, while the River Falls Library Foundation provides funding for 15.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our community has come to rely on these additional hotspots for work, school, social connections, lifelong learning and auord able entertainment,” Misselt said. “The library is in urgent need of funding to continue the current number of hotspots that the public library circulates. Due to high demand, the library also needs to expand this service.”

The library pulled together enough funding to continue its contract for a few more months. Without the grant, the library might have had to drop the account; $10,584 of the grant will go toward another two-year contract. The library will also implement an additional 10 hotspots with the remaining $7,056 to meet demand. Currently, the waiting list for hotspots is 25 people deep.

Surveys show that card holders use the hotspots for a variety of reasons, such as attending virtual meetings and classes, submitting homework, accessing entertainment, searching for housing, accessing email, online banking, job hunting, telehealth visits, and more. The hotspots can be checked out for two weeks.

“Our world is more interconnected to information on the Internet than ever,” Misselt said. “Thanks to the T-Mobile Hometown Grant we can provide more library patrons with access to online library resources and the Internet through the circulation of additional hotspots. Now, more than ever we can help our community stay connected. Thank you, T-Mobile!”

As part of its Hometown Grant program, T-Mobile works with Main Street America and Smart Growth America, two organizations that have decades of experience helping to build stronger, more prosperous small towns and rural communities. Together, the organizations assess applications based on level of detail and completeness, potential community impact, project viability and other factors.

“We’re proud to work with T-Mobile and Smart Growth America to support these innovative projects in rural communities across the country,” said Main Street America’s Interim CEO Hannah White. “These grant recipients represent the creativity and passion for place we’ve long seen in Main Street communities, and we are excited to see how the projects positively impact these areas in the coming years.”

Each quarter, T-Mobile awards Hometown Grants for up to 25 towns with a population of less than 50,000 and anyone with a vision for how to make their community even stronger than it is today can apply.

Commitment to Rural America Hometown Grants are part of T-Mobile's five- year commitment announced in April 2021 to bring 5G to rural America, open hundreds of new stores and support economic development in small towns by providing $25 million in funding.

“At T-Mobile, we go way beyond wireless to do what’s right for communities across the country,” said Jon Freier, President, Consumer Group at T-Mobile. “Through Hometown Grants, we’re empowering people in small towns and rural America to make a diuerence where they live, and the results have been incredibly inspiring. With 125 recipients and counting, it’s a privilege for the Un-carrier to continue supporting community development projects from coast to coast.”