Technology For All

technologyforall

Technology For All (TFA) utilizes technology as
a tool to empower and create opportunities
for under-resourced communities.

updates

Texas Connects Coalition and LiveAir Networks Provide Internet Cafe to MS 150 Cyclists

April 30, 2012-TFA staff joined forces with Smithville-based LiveAir Networks so all BP MS 150 cyclists had access to free wifi in La Grange, Texas. Thousands of cyclists biking from Houston to Austin spent the night in La Grange after a windy first day, and were delighted to update their families, check weather and news sources and get out of the sun. We were delighted to be part of a huge Texas tradition that raises money and awareness for multiple sclerosis. Learn more.

Results Are Showing for TXC2

When Texas Connects Coalition received a $9.6 million grant for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, its founders, Austin Free-Net and Technology For All, turned hope into promises with major project goals. With careful planning, these goals (and the grant) had a completion date in 2013. As January’s numbers roll in, Texas Connects Coalition is excited to exceed or nearly meet almost every goal. Learn more.

Access Leaders Unite for Neighborhood Network

February 21, 2012-Voice Runner, Houston's tenth-largest professional voice, Internet and data carrier, was created as a response to the lack of competition in their field. TFA-Wireless, a project by Rice University and Technology For All, provides free and secure wireless Internet for over 4,000 residents of a low-income neighborhood. When local demand increased, TFA turned to Voice Runner for a low-cost, high-quality wireless infrastructure, enabling light-speed Internet for all. Learn more.

A Dose of Digital: TFA students' lives reflect studies over healthcare and Internet access

January 12, 2012 - A series of Internet-focused studies from the Pew Research Center report rising trends for Internet access and health and healthcare research. 8 in 10 adult Internet users research health online, and health is one of the most common online research topics. The studies also show dispairities of access between income, age and other demographics. As health and heatlhcare becomes increasingly digitalized, many of our senior users feel increasingly left behind. Learn more.

TFA and TXC2 Honor Partners with Celebration Luncheon
November 4, 2011 - On October 27, Technology For All’s Public Computer Center directors and Program Specialists met for Pappas’ catered barbeque at the first Public Computer Center Celebration Luncheon. The luncheon provided a formal setting for each center’s site directors, Program Specialists and fellow Texas Connects Coalition (TXC2) partner Austin Free-Net to finally meet. Learn more.

TFA and TXC2 Partners Support Wildfire Evacuees
September 15, 2011 - Texas' Labor Day wildfires are being called the most destructive in the state's history. Thousands of residents were evacuated from their homes to Red Cross Evacuation Centers like the Smithville Recreation Center, which had just replaced 11-year-old computers through the federal grant awarded to Texas Connects Coalition. As tunnels of smoke blocked nearby highways, displaced residents finally made contact and tracked the wildfires through open computer and Internet access. Learn more.

TFA and Rice University team up for ‘Super Wifi’

April 19, 2011 - Technology For All and Rice University installed the first residential deployment of ‘Super Wifi’ in Houston’s low-income Pecan Park neighborhood. More accessible than traditional wifi, ‘Super Wifi’ can reach residents whose wireless access is limited by natural or human barriers. Learn more.

Technology For All receives $9.6 million grant
September 13, 2010 - The National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) announced TFA has been awarded a $9.6 million Recovery Act grant for Texas Connects Coalition (TXC2)--the second largest grant in ther category! The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) grant is from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) of the NTIA. Through the grant, Texas Connects Coalition will provide the development and support of 70 public computer center sites in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and across rural Texas. For current information, visit www.txc2.org. Or: Check out our original press release.

$1.8 million grant awarded to support TFA-Wireless

June 25, 2010 - The National Science Foundation awarded a grant of $1.8 million to Rice University to support the TFA-Wireless project. Working together, Technology For All and Rice University will utilize this urban testbed to better understand the user experience and assess and improve the design and effectiveness of the network. Serving as Co-Principal Investigators on the project are Dr. Edward Knightly and Dr. Will Reed, with help from Drs. Lin Zhong and Robert Stein.