| 4/18/08 - FreeFi Networks, a Los Angeles-based company offering content and advertiser supported Internet access, today announced the launch of upgraded Wi-Fi service at Roxbury Community College located in Boston, Massachusetts. The launch brings a newly installed and enhanced Internet experience to students, faculty and staff of the college.
The "FreeFi University" prototype was successfully concept-tested at Bentley College during 2007, and then customized for Roxbury Community College with specific educational, social and entertainment content to create a unique experience for the college. FreeFi and Roxbury Community College are partnering with Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Experience Inc. to increase the coverage and the speed of the current Wi-Fi offering to over 4X and at the same time have created a loaner laptop program, enhanced career service access and direct access to the MDSN Academic Alliance and Microsoft IT academy. The ultimate goal is to create a state of the art technology offering at Roxbury that is also financially self sustaining. "There are currently one billion people with internet access in the world and that number is growing every day," noted Richard Bogen, managing director of FreeFi Networks. "This alliance adds to that number by providing all students at Roxbury with free Wi-Fi internet access as a key enabler to help prepare them to compete and participate in the global economy." FreeFi Networks in conjunction with their technology partner Front Porch has created a custom persistent Roxbury Community College side bar, so that the school can place social, educational and promotional content at the student's fingertips. Roxbury Community College is the first member of a five school pilot partnership with Microsoft to evaluate the impact created by combining ubiquitous internet access with education enhancing resources for all students. Microsoft's core student resources, MSDN AA and IT Academy will be integrated into the FreeFi University experience. MSDN Academic Alliance provides students with free access to technical tools for uses such as development, project management or web design while Microsoft IT Academy allows students to obtain in-depth training. This powerful combination delivered over FreeFi's network directly to students enables them to get the hands-on skills and practice that they need to succeed in today's technology careers. In addition, students can earn certification on a number of Microsoft applications through this program. Working with Experience.com, the first web-based college recruiting platform, students can connect directly with thousands of information technology (IT) career opportunities. Through the Experience.com network, Microsoft's community of 10,000 partner companies can easily post jobs or internships and find Microsoft-certified personnel that match their IT work-force needs. FreeFi's partnership with Experience, the nation's leading provider of career services for college students and alumni, also allows students to connect directly with thousands of career opportunities in various industries. Students interested specifically in technology careers can join the Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) community and benefit from access to IT jobs and internships as well as unique training and certification opportunities. Through the Experience network, Microsoft's community of 10,000 partner companies can easily post jobs or internships and find Microsoft-certified personnel that match their IT workforce needs. "While the digital experience divide is typically viewed as a global issue, it also affects Americans of diverse backgrounds here," said Dr. Terrence A. Gomes, President of Roxbury Community College. "FreeFi Networks is helping to close this divide by providing its services to students that may otherwise not have access." FreeFi Networks is available at Roxbury Community College's main buildings and plans to expand to the whole campus over time.
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