BLink – Bluffs Community Wi-Fi

Background

The City of Council Bluffs began offering free community Wi-Fi in 2009. The first Wi-Fi zones were downtown, the local sports complex, and Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park. In 2014, the Council Bluffs Community School District and the City of Council Bluffs partnered to expand the free community Wi-Fi network to students and residents in the community. The Council Bluffs Area Wi-Fi Consortium (CBAWC) is the lead organization responsible for the planning, installation, and maintenance of the Wi-Fi network. Iowa West Foundation is a supportive funding partner of this initiative.

As a major funder of this initiative, the Iowa West Foundation seeks to create a community where families choose to live and businesses choose to locate because of the quality of life and standard of living. BLink is truly a transformational project that does just that, offering a unique amenity to residents and visitors to Council Bluffs as well as an essential tool to the students in the Council Bluffs Community School District.

Partners

Technology can be a great equalizer for students and families from different backgrounds, but without access, it can’t happen. The Iowa West Foundation, along with these partners, is pleased to help bring this wonderful asset to more of Council Bluffs, Iowa using no citizen tax dollars.

• Google
• Charles E. Lakin Foundation
• Echo Group
• Mid-American Energy
• Miller Electric
• Ruckus Wireless
• SmartWAVE Communications
• UNITE Private Networks

Phases

Outcomes

• To provide reliable free community Wi-Fi to the citizens, visitors, and students in the coverage areas
• To reach the doorsteps of nearly every home and business in Council Bluffs at project completion over the next five years
• To cover more than 20 square miles, providing Wi-Fi access to more than 40,000 people, demonstrating the vision for community-wide access and growth
• To attract young professionals, families and new businesses
• To be the largest free and open public WiFi network in the country at project completion

Fun Facts

• At any given time, there are more than 1,000 users working, collaborating, communicating, learning, and surfing BLink
• About 1,000 Wilson Middle School Students with district-issued Google Chromebooks can use BLink off campus.
• Most families of Roosevelt and Franklin Elementary School students live in the BLink coverage area.
• The Wi-Fi at Gale Wickersham Sports Complex can accommodate more than 5,000 simultaneous users.
• The busiest geographical area (users and bandwidth) is the four blocks along 16th Street (Avenue G to Avenue K) adjacent to the Charles E. Lakin Community Services Campus.
• Already, two of the 10 busiest Access Points are in Phase II (29th & Ave E, and 26th & Avenue J)

Contact

John Stile
Chief Technology Officer, Council Bluffs School District
712-328-6446

Diane Ostrowski
Chief Communications Officer, Council Bluffs School District
712-328-6443

Mark Howard
Chief Information Officer, City of Council Bluffs
712-328-4639

Ashley Kruse
Communications Officer
712-318-9000