Bay Area schools build community wireless networks to bridge digital divide

California school districts and cities that are grappling with unequal internet access among their students during the pandemic are taking it upon themselves to solve the problem.

Early on, schools often gave individual hotspots to students who don’t have the means to access the internet at home. But service can be patchy and expensive. So, some communities — San Jose, West Contra Costa County, Kings County and Oakland among others — are building their own wireless network infrastructure.