Check out a free Wi-Fi hotspot? Now you can in two low-income neighborhoods in Wichita

Wichita is trying to narrow the digital divide between rich and poor neighborhoods by offering free Wi-Fi hotspots for check-out in two low-income neighborhoods.

More than 16 percent of Wichitans were below the Census Bureau’s poverty line in 2017, which for a family of four was $25,094. And more than one out of four homes are without internet, according to a study cited by Mayor Jeff Longwell at a news conference Thursday.

A hotspot is a pocket-sized mobile device that provides wireless internet access to Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as a laptop computer or a smartphone. They are typically password protected.

Anyone who is 18 or older and living in Wichita will be able to check out a hotspot with free unlimited internet use for two weeks at a time.

Planeview and the neighborhood just west of Wichita State University will be the first areas to get the hotspots. Those neighborhoods were chosen based on the findings of a Wichita State study on the city’s libraries.

The hotspots are available at Colvin Community Resource Center, 2820 S. Roosevelt, and Atwater Community Resource Center, 2755 E. 19th St.

Forty hotspots were donated to the city by T-Mobile. Wichita is on a free trial for two months, and then the city will pay T-Mobile $28.70 a month for each device. Longwell said the city could add more hotspots in the future at other sites.

“Hotspot availability will increase digital inclusion for those that need it most and offer a much-needed service to our citizens,” Longwell said.

“A well-informed and connected citizenry will have a direct impact on growing our economy and building our infrastructure.”

The devices have Child Internet Privacy Act filtering enabled to prevent access to “adult content, gambling and violence” and will have limited protections to block sites that expose the community to fraud, phishing, malicious activity and spyware, Longwell said.