On April 12 2020, several tornadoes ripped through our community in East Brainerd, Chattanooga, TN. Wind speeds above 145 mph and EF-3 tornado classification. The closest tornado missed my home by just half a mile, but I watched it go by. Power and internet were out for days and over 60 miles of fiber optic and power lines were twisted like yarn and toothpicks. I am fortunate to have very high speed internet available at 1 gbps. The fiber optic lines are back up, but now that Covid-19 has taken such a strong hold, physical school buildings are limited in space and students are at home. Many families cut their internet and cable services after the disaster to save money. Displaced residents specifically are staying in hotels, Air B&B, camp grounds and temporary apartment solutions setup by home insurance companies. Many of these places have poor or no internet, and it is not just as simple as installing internet in a place they do not permanently stay ( think campgrounds and cheap hotels ). The city of Chattanooga and EPB Fiber Optics providers are working to do everything they can to get internet to every eligible family for aid, but ultimately there are lots of kids and adult students that cannot get good enough internet in their individual situations to do schoolwork. I would love to offer connections to groups of students in range to do my part to fill our WiFi desert.
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