Digital KC Now Sunset in November 2023
Digital KC Now was a community collaboration between the City of Kansas City, aSTEAM Village and community partners.
This project was funded by the City of Kansas City, Missouri through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
The City of Kansas City, Missouri recommended funding this five-year project with a 2-year contract in September 2021.
aSTEAM Village paused operations from November 2023 - January 2024 due to the City of Kansas City decision to not fund this project. Community broadband operations, completed some broadband infrastructure projects during the pause and resumed community broadband network operations in February 2024 under the brand Digital KC Connect.
We are grateful to everyone we worked with at the City of Kansas City, Missouri as they did provide us the opportunity to deliver a forward thinking community development and civil rights program to the 3rd District of Kansas City, Missouri.
Because of our work over the last 3 years, only aSTEAM Village, AT&T, Spectrum, and Google Fiber stand as the only real solutions to Kansas Citians who are a part of the 23 million households who will lose their Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) stipends in April 2024.
aSTEAM Village's Digital KC Now project receives
the Broadband Communities Cornerstone Award
About the Cornerstone Award
Each year, a committee of industry leaders, analysts, and writers selected by Broadband Communities votes to bestow a half dozen or so Cornerstone Awards to private developments, municipalities, communities, companies, and individuals with outstanding accomplishments in the area of delivering telecommunications for the benefit of the end user.
Since 2004, Cornerstone awards have included recognition for the most notable deployments of Fiber-to-the-Home in the U.S. and abroad. Cornerstone Awards were originally established in 1989 as the Diamond Tier Awards and presented as recognition of achievement to companies providing cable services to the MDU industry (condominiums, apartments, hotels).
The Cornerstone Awards have been expanded to include and recognize achievements in broadband and telecommunications for all communities and municipalities, including residential multifamily (apartments, campus housing, active adult communities) and planned communities (multi-home developments, renewed urban areas).
Each year, a committee of industry leaders, analysts, and writers selected by Broadband Communities votes to bestow a half dozen or so Cornerstone Awards to private developments, municipalities, communities, companies, and individuals with outstanding accomplishments in the area of delivering telecommunications for the benefit of the end user.
Since 2004, Cornerstone awards have included recognition for the most notable deployments of Fiber-to-the-Home in the U.S. and abroad. Cornerstone Awards were originally established in 1989 as the Diamond Tier Awards and presented as recognition of achievement to companies providing cable services to the MDU industry (condominiums, apartments, hotels).
The Cornerstone Awards have been expanded to include and recognize achievements in broadband and telecommunications for all communities and municipalities, including residential multifamily (apartments, campus housing, active adult communities) and planned communities (multi-home developments, renewed urban areas).
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT
BROADBAND, DIGITAL ECONOMY, AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Digital KC Connect is an initiative that brings broadband internet access and the educational support needed to utilize the internet and its resources to neighborhoods while building a community of knowledge workers.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City publishes Crossing The Divide:
What We Learned from a Disconnected Neighborhood
Co-Authors Community, Wendell Phillips Neighborhood Association and aSTEAM Village
Broadband equity and connectivity are essential in community infrastructure
therefore this project will bring internet point-to-point service where it does not exist today while simultaneously encouraging the adoption of the internet from providers where it does exist today for the betterment of the community and lives of the citizens in the community.
The City of Kansas City supports the initiative to provide equitable internet access and technology-focused education to under-served communities where there is a disparity on physical wired connections and an understanding of how to use the internet. The 3rd District community of Kansas City will act as a pilot for the initiative.
The City of Kansas City supports the initiative to provide equitable internet access and technology-focused education to under-served communities where there is a disparity on physical wired connections and an understanding of how to use the internet. The 3rd District community of Kansas City will act as a pilot for the initiative.
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Through Digital KC Connect
educating people on how to use the internet is key to improving lives: access to healthcare and education, enhancing business performance, and raising the area’s median household income. The ability to utilize the internet affects people’s access to education, career opportunities, remote work, public health information, and up-to-date news and therefore is an important part of this program.
aSTEAM Village
will hire, train and mentor a workforce from the community to create knowledge workers right here locally in the 3rd District. In fact, aSTEAM Village’s RedTails program is an essential component of the digital workforce team. A knowledgeable population has greater earning capabilities, financial stability, and public health outcomes. Using technically trained citizens of the 3rd District, means the community will lead the charge of education, healthcare and workforce development for the participation in the 21st Century economy.
