page_title: Red Hook Wi-Fi
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Red Hook Wi-Fi / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Repairing Red Hook WiFi mesh network node after Superstorm Sandy. After the storm, some cabling was damage and one directional node needed to be replaced.
context_page_description: Red Hook Wi-Fi is a free-to-use, Wi-Fi mesh network that provides free internet access to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is operated by the Red Hook Initiative.
context_section_description: Due to the location of Red Hook, Brooklyn, between the Red Hook Channel and the Buttermilk Channel, many of its residents face various challenges in accessing broadband service. A survey found out that many people in the area accessed the internet primarily through mobile phones and that over 30% of the population did not have broadband access at home.
  Beginning in Fall 2011, the Red Hook Initiative (RHI), a Brooklyn non-profit, approached the Open Technology Institute about collaborating on a community wireless network. RHI wanted a way to communicate with the residents immediately around its community center.
  When the network was initially launched, it had support for up to 150 simultaneous users and ran on an open-software platform called Commotion.
caption: Repairing Red Hook WiFi mesh network node after Superstorm Sandy
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