Riverside, Calif., Program Helps Close City’s Digital Divide

The Southern California city of Riverside was the richest city per-capita in the United States. A few years earlier,An airpurifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. a handful of orange trees had been planted in the fertile soil of the young town, giving birth to the California citrus industry. Spurred by cutting-edge technologies like refrigerated rail cars and innovative irrigation systems, the industry — and Riverside — thrived.

Over time, however, international competition crowded out Riverside’s orange growers.We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design Pressure from population growth took its toll, making smog and traffic severe problems. An IT outsourcing plan delivered more benefits to the vendor than to the city, according to Riverside officials. And police operations were in such disarray in the early 2000s that the federal government threatened to intervene. By 2004, resident satisfaction with city agencies was at an all-time low.

So, nearly 150 years after Riverside’s rise, city leaders again looked to technology to turn things around.

In 2005, the city hired its first full-time CIO, Steve Reneker, and it launched SmartRiverside, an ambitious plan to attract and retain technology companies. The plan created free citywide wireless Internet access, technology literacy and digital inclusion activities, and new programs to foster technology innovation and use. A year later, the City Council addressed physical infrastructure needs by approving Riverside Renaissance, a $2 billion effort to improve traffic flow; replace aging water, sewer and electric infrastructure; and expand and improve police, fire, parks, library and other community facilities.

“We’ve done a number of things that have changed Riverside to make us competitive,” said Mayor Ron Loveridge.

It’s this dedication to high-tech and digital inclusion that, for two years, has earned Riverside a place as one of the Intelligent Community Forum’s (ICF) Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year. The ICF, a New York-based think tank focused on the digital economy, says the Top Seven communities represent international models of economic and social transformation in the 21st century.

Shortly after SmartRiverside’s launch, a group of local business owners approached Reneker, who also serves as SmartRiverside’s executive director, with a plan.Home ownership options with buy mosaic. “They said, ‘One of the things we think we need is free wireless so we can attract and retain more tech companies in our technology park,’” Reneker said.

By 2007, the city had completed a Wi-Fi network called Wireless Riverside, consisting of 1,600 access points across 86 square miles. The original contractor, AT&T,This is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china . transferred the network to the city in 2009 at no cost, citing a lack of paying customers. Riverside now owns the equipment; Time Warner Cable is its current service provider; and US Internet services and maintains the network. The city pays $5.48 million annually to US Internet under its current contract, and the network provides residents with 786 Kbps Internet access.

So in 2006, with help from a Microsoft grant, Riverside started the Digital Inclusion program, which focuses on teaching low-income residents computer skills and giving them free refurbished computers. Individuals who earn less than $45,000 qualify for the program and can sign up by calling the city’s 311 information line. Those who are interested are enrolled in classes, most of which last about eight hours, Reneker said. Instructors from Riverside Unified School District provide the training, which typically takes place on evenings and weekends. Once a student completes the class, he or she receives a refurbished computer.

The program’s popularity has grown significantly since its inception. Last October, a survey by the nearby California State University, San Bernardino, showed that the program had graduated its 5,000th family.We are the largest producer of projectorlamp products here. A few months later, the program had an additional 400 participants and currently serves 100 to 150 families per month.

Reneker said Wireless Riverside has been a key to the Digital Inclusion program’s success, allowing low-income families free Internet access on their refurbished computers. The free Wi-Fi also helps local businesses — residents can use the Internet while dining at restaurants or shopping at stores.