Free Neighborhood Wi-Fi Project Funded In Marin

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Up to 300 households in Marin City will receive free Wi-Fi service after the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a $150,000 grant Tuesday from the Marin Community Foundation to start the project.

Schools officials will help determine eligible households that include young students.

The project would also include establishing outdoor Wi-Fi access points at Bayside Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, Marin Gateway Shopping Center and George "Rocky" Graham Park, said Javier Trujillo, chief assistant director of the Marin County Information Services and Technology Department.

"From remote learning, accessing public services, communications and outreach, the availability of high-speed internet has proven to be a barrier for many," Trujillo said in a statement. "This collaboration is an important first step towards a more comprehensive solution."

Marin City has a diverse population of about 3,200, and is home to more than 500 schoolchildren, according to the county. The pandemic has exacerbated the need for affordable internet service in a neighborhood where 34 percent of households have annual earnings of less than $25,000.

County officials say families in Marin City have experienced a higher per-capita rate of financial hardship because of COVID-19-related job loss, along with a higher per-capita rate of the coronavirus than other Marin communities.

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