Montana State Library helping provide internet to communities through Hotspots

The Montana State Library is working to make hotspots, which will provide internet access and unlimited data, available to communities across the state through public libraries.

Hotspots are small digital devices that allow users to connect cell phones, tablets and computers to wifi.

The hotspots provided by MSL connect through cell towers using either Verizon or T-Mobile service, meaning the hotspot must be able to connect to a cell tower to provide internet access.

The need for quality, affordable internet access in Montana is well-documented. A 2020 broadband connective survey Montana reported that 24 percent of public libraries are the only source of free wifi in their communities.

When libraries temporarily closed during COVID-19, many communities lost access to free internet and computer usage.

"During the COVID-19 crisis response, the need to make Internet access mobile in communities has become even more apparent and pressing," according to an MSL press release. It went on to say that the digital divide - the gap between those with internet and computer access and those without - impacted "distance learning for children at home, applying for unemployment benefits, [and] seeking telemedicine options."

MSL rolled out the first hotspots for use in May of this year.

"Use has doubled between June and July," said Montana State Librarian, Jennie Stapp. "We've just started to gather stories" about how the hotspots are affecting people and communities, she added.

The first round of funding for the hotspots came through the CARES Act, which allowed MSL to purchase two hotspots for each of Montana's 82 public libraries, as well as for the seven tribal colleges in the state, with extra hotspots available for select communities.

The hotspots include one full year of paid cellular service.

Currently, 63 of Montana's 82 libraries have implemented hotspot use through MSL's hotspot lending program. That doesn't include other libraries such as Lewis & Clark Library, which has already circulated hotspots in the Lincoln area for the last year or two and expects to offer more this fall.

"It's going really well," said Stapp. "Our hope is by Sept. 1, we'll have hotspots in all public libraries." MSL also hopes to make the hotspots available to university libraries.

MSL recently received a second wave of funding, including $500,000 in funding from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund as well as additional money from the Trust for Montana Libraries.

"Our goal is that a library, based on population, will be able to lend one hotspot per 1,500 people in the community," said Stapp.

Stapp recognizes that providing hotspots won't solve the digital divide on it's own. "Largely, I view the program as a sort of stopgap measure," said Stapp. "Long term, I really hope that we can overcome the barriers that exist to having access to available and affordable broadband."

MSL is also working on a program to provide tablets and iPads for public libraries to circulate in conjunction with the hotspots. "Having access to wifi is part of the divide," said Stapp, adding that having access to a device to connect to that wifi is just as vital. This program is set to begin in early September.

A new bipartisan Hotspots and Online Technology and Services Procurement for our Tribes and States (HOTSPOTS) Act introduced to the Senate would fund a hotspot pilot program providing at least $1.6 million per state to purchase and distribute devices to libraries in rural and low-income areas.