The Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro's (HACG's) initiative with Open Broadband, LLC, provides fast and reliable broadband internet to each of our public housing communities. "We constantly strive to be a leader in the public housing community and to eliminate any barriers faced by the residents we serve. Our families are disproportionately under-connected and even more so now that we're in a pandemic," said CEO Anthony Goodson, Jr.
In April 2020, the Housing Authority of the City of Goldsboro received $786,191.00 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Public Housing Operation Fund and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to help manage and maintain resident services, as well as support and respond to the coronavirus pandemic in our housing communities. As a ConnectHomeUSA community since 2017, HACG saw the need for quality internet as a major priority for these funds. The funds aided in the installation of the fixed-wireless internet that is much faster than other previous internet alternatives. HACG also intends to cover the usage charges for residents for at least 2 years.
Mr. Goodson states that "Access to high-quality broadband is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, and bridging the digital divide with quality connectivity not only puts our residents' needs at the forefront, but ensures that everyone, despite age, race, or current living arrangements have the resources they need to survive, succeed, and become self-sufficient--which is our top priority."
To access the free wifi in your community, follow these steps:
- Open wifi settings on your device
- Click on the "open" community (example: Open West Haven)
- On the page pop-up on your device, click on Privacy and Terms"
- Click "Confirm" to agree to the terms and Privacy Policy
- On the next screen, click on "Continue to Free Wifi"
- Next, you can check boxes for services you may need assistance with or proceed to click "Connect"
- Enter your email address for usage purposes only
- Now you're ready to surf the web, starting on our hacg.org homepage!