GUEST POST BY LESA BALCH, DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGIES AND CONTENT

Access to the internet just got faster!  In fact, Kitchener Public Library now offers 200 Mbps of bandwidth to access the internet.

Two years ago, Kitchener Public Library increased the bandwidth that is available to use the internet across all library locations for both connected computers and WiFi. Then, in the past two years, WiFi usage more than tripled.

• 2013 = WiFi used 121,963 times
• 2015 = WiFi used 406,369 times

With this dramatic increase in WiFi usage, along with an increase in streaming video, whether short YouTube clips or full-length movies, it was time to increase the bandwidth again.  This time the library doubled the bandwidth to 200 Mbps.

The increase in bandwidth means customers should not experience any lags in accessing websites, opening email, or viewing video clips.

And, there’s more good news.

Kitchener Public Library was recently nominated for a Business Excellence Award from the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce in the Innovation Award category for our WiFi hotspot lending program Borrow the Internet.

While the award went to the Perimeter Institute (congratulations to them!), it was an honour to be recognized with a list of nominees that included local research and technology companies.

With the Borrow the Internet program, we are making a difference in the lives of people, and helping people bridge the digital divide. In one case, a woman used a library hotspot to search for jobs from home, so that she did not have to pay bus fare to come to the library for internet access. Someone else was relieved that he could stay connected to work while visiting his parents who only have dial-up internet.

We’re now investigating ways to fund the expansion of the Borrow the Internet program, with additional hotspot devices at more library locations.

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