Free Wi-Fi will be available to the public from the parking lots of 10 schools in Anchorage and Fairbanks starting Monday.
The hotspots will allow the public to access the internet from vehicles while maintaining social-distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska Communications said in a statement. The hotspots were set up through a partnership with the Anchorage and North Star Borough school districts.
The public can use the Wi-Fi by driving to the school parking lots and connecting to a network named ConnectWithACS. The hotspots can connect to 250 devices simultaneously and have high-speed capability, the company said.
In Anchorage, the hotspots are at Begich Middle School, Clark Middle School, Hanshew Middle School, Eagle River High School, East High School, Dimond High School and West High School. Hotspots are available in Fairbanks at Pearl Creek Elementary School, Ticasuk Brown Elementary School and Weller Elementary School.
The company is considering adding hotspots throughout the state and previously provided free internet service to about 340 homes with teachers and students when the pandemic began to ensure access to education.
Alaska Communications spokeswoman Heather Cavanaugh said the hotspots will remain up as long as they’re needed.
“We wanted there to be a way to connect for people if they just need to get out of the house,” she said. “If there’s a teenager who needs to work on something for school and they have a lot of siblings or they just want to work on it out of the house, it’s just one more way to connect.”
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