Remote learning leaves schools with a problem: how to get everyone online

Published: Aug. 31, 2020, 9:28 a.m.

In the rush to get families online in time for distance learning, it’s Wi-Fi hot spots to the rescue. In the Ozarks, they’re parking school buses equipped with Wi-Fi routers for kids to use while sitting in the parking lot. Chicago is spending millions to give hot spots to individual families and also connect homes to broadband. But is this sustainable? And will there be any going back from Wi-Fi for all? Molly speaks with Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He says this expanded access could be here to stay.