Challenge

NetEquality is a non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon dedicated to providing basic wireless Internet access to low-income housing developments in the Pacific Northwest.

NetEquality partnered with Hacienda Community Development Corporation to provide free high speed Internet access to the residents of an apartment development in the Northeast part of Portland called Mariposa.

To deliver free Internet access to Mariposa, NetEquality had to find a solution with minimal overhead, easy installation, and very little ongoing maintenance costs.

Solution

Hacienda goes wireless with Meraki

NetEquality deployed a Meraki Mesh Network at Mariposa Village, providing free wireless Internet access to its 77 apartments. The network is composed of 18 Minis, with one of them serving as a gateway to the Internet. The gateway is fed by a DSL connection provided by Hacienda CDC. The remainder of the Meraki Minis act as both access points and repeaters. Each Meraki Mini provides Internet access to four Mariposa apartments. Their coverage areas purposefully overlap to ensure ubiquitous coverage.

Minimal Overhead

Meraki eliminated the need for running new wires at Mariposa, and did so for 8x less than any other wireless mesh solution in the market. Because Meraki Mesh is self-configuring and self-healing, NetEquality has also saved thousands of dollars on administrative overhead since deployment.

Easy Installation and Expansion

In the future, NetEquality can easily increase network performance or extend the Mariposa network. Nodes can be added to the network simply by plugging them into an outlet where needed. Bandwidth can be added by plugging any of the Minis into a high speed Internet connection.

Low Ongoing Maintenance Costs

Meraki Mesh is self-configuring and self-healing so NetEquality doesn’t need to hire certified engineers to come onsite to maintain the Mariposa network. If a node fails, Meraki Mesh technology automatically reroutes traffic, allowing network administrators to deal with maintenance issues at their convenience.

Results

With a little help from Meraki, NetEquality was able to bring free Internet access to the residents of Mariposa. Following their success at Mariposa, NetEquality has continued to deploy free high speed wireless networks at other Hacienda properties in the Portland area. Their networks now service Mariposa, as well as SueÒos, Clara Vista, Jardines, and Cedros Plaza. Together, these networks provide free high speed Internet access to some 1,200 residents in 320 apartments and townhomes.

“NetEquality provided an inexpensive and simple solution for wireless Internet access at Hacienda CDC properties that benefited some 1,200 residents who otherwise would be left out from the digital economy.”

— Pietro Ferrari, Executive Director, Hacienda