by Staff
A wireless Internet zone — it carries the acronym of “WIZ” — will reach into low income communities with the help of the City and the Chamber of Commerce.
The WIZ has been installed in the Landing and antennas now have been installed atop the Emmett Reed Center on West Sixth Street and the Twin Towers Center on West 44th Street. The antennas will link into residents’ computers and provide access to the Internet.
“The bottom line is that this will bring the Internet to those who don’t have it,” said Richard Danford, president of the Jacksonville Urban League. “The WIZ gives access; now, we have to get the equipment.”
It didn’t take long for a donor to step forward as Jim Woodford of Humana offered 50 computers.
“Having the antennas and the system is great,” he said, “but it doesn’t do anyone any good if there isn’t a way to get to it. We’ll do our share.”
Also attending Monday’s announcement was the City’s general counsel, Rick Mullaney, who compared the project to the Better Jacksonville Plan.
“This is for the future, just like the Plan,” said Mullaney. “Usually, governments look only to the next election. We’re helping look way past that.”
The City will put $175,000 into the project.
City Council member Alberta Hipps, who chairs the Council’s Special Committee on Telecommunications and Technology, said, “This brings a broader range of citizens into the world of technology. To have a free service such as this is exciting.”
And Bank of America market president Mac Holley, who chairs the Chamber’s Existing Business Workforce Development effort, added, “When businesses look to a community, the first thing they look at is the workforce. The WIZ will give job information and training. There will be a ton of information at peoples’ fingertips.
“This is putting the Internet into neighborhoods that need it the most.”