Free WiFi At Void Decks Aims To Provide Internet Access For Low-Income Community
UPDATE (26 Aug): Beyond Social Services has launched its Kebun Baru Void Deck WiFi Project, supported by Mr Henry Kwek, MP for Kebun Bahru on Wednesday (26 Aug).
High-speed fibre broadband network has been installed at Block 245 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. This benefits about 300 residents.
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Home is where the WiFi automatically connects. But for some, this simply isn’t the case.
With that in mind, a pilot programme called the ‘Kebun Baru Wifi Project‘ was started, hoping to provide free WiFi at void decks of HDB rental blocks.
A collaboration between ‘Bridge the Digital Divide’ (BDD) and Beyond Social Services (BSS), the initiative will hopefully bring new opportunities to the lower-income communities.
Kebun Baru Wifi Project launches at 2 Ang Mo Kio HDBs
According to BDD’s website, the project will be first launched in Block 244 and 245 along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.
The initiative will hopefully provide low-income residents access to the internet, bridging the digital divide in the process.
Hopefully, this would translate into more opportunities in the areas of education and employment.
This will apparently help even out the playing field between low and high-income communities in the long run.
Free WiFi will complement study corner
Providing WiFi at the void decks would also nicely complement the study corner that will be constructed for youths at these blocks.
Hopefully, students will benefit from such spaces, which provide them with a conducive study environment.
Students living in rental flats often do not have a suitable studying space, due to the cramped layout of their homes.
Access to the internet is now more crucial than ever for students to learn, given the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The disparity between students of low and high socioeconomic status can quickly exacerbate into greater developmental gaps.
This is a problem the Kebun Baru WiFi Project hopes to tackle.
Free WiFi will hopefully benefit large groups of people
Void decks have long been a defining feature of Singapore’s HDBs.
For illustration purposes only
Source
A common area where children play and where the elderly connect with their friends, it is arguably one of the most convenient and accessible public space.
With just a single internet subscription, the initiative is low-cost but benefits a large group of people.
Tackling the technology gap
As technology rapidly advances, it is easy to neglect the negative impact this has on people from all walks of life.
The technology gap, largely tied to income levels, disproportionately affects the low-income communities.
Though we might not see tangible effects in the short run, the Kebun Baru Wifi Project could have a significant impact in the long run.
We applaud the good work they are embarking on.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps and 99.co.
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