Laptop rentals and hundreds of mobile hotspots will demonstrate our city's steadfast commitment to digital equity.

I want to thank the city staff that Mayor Gloria mentioned with IT, Parks and Recreation, Library, and EMIMEC Development that have been working on this for months.

I appreciate how quickly and thoughtfully you have all moved to ensure that the services being being provided are equitable, accessible, and inclusive of the needs of our communities.

The variety of opportunities that we announced today illustrate the impact that can be made when the city comes together with corporate and philanthropic partners to address these crucial gaps.

I would especially like to thank the San Diego Park Foundation, the San Diego Public Library Foundation, Cox Communication, and ATT for the support you have all provided to make this important step in expanding digital access, expanding digital access.

To the community members and partner organizations who have long advocated for and fought for this level of investment, thank you.

This is largely the result of the work that you have done to elevate this need.

At its core, the digital space is one where creativity, connections, and community are all met.

And I'm excited to see us make that an experience that is not exclusive to some, but accessible for all.

With that, I am now proud to introduce a champion for equity in the city and someone who I think is really really paving the way and being a model for what uh equitable leadership looks like.

Misty Jones.

Good morning.

Um, I'd like to start by thanking Mayor Gloria and the City Council for their support of the SD Access for All program.

Uh, this is going to make a big difference for all San Diegans.

And all of us at the San Diego Public Library are absolutely thrilled to be part of helping to close the digital divide.

We've talked a lot about new free Wi-Fi locations, but we all know that free internet isn't worth anything if you don't have a laptop or a computer to connect with.

And that's where we come in.

We're proud to announce that we've purchased hundreds of new laptops for San Diegans to check out on their next library visit.

They are available on a first come, first served basis.

Patrons can check them out for up to two hours at a time, and the perfect place to use them is at the outdoor community computer labs we have put up at 10 libraries.

We're also excited about our newest offering for our patrons, mobile hotspots for home use.

These little devices are a game changer.

Mobile hotspots are simple to use and folks and allow folks to connect to their laptop, tablet, or other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the internet.

The mobile hotspot converts cell signals into Wi-Fi to provide internet access for email, web browsing, and other data transfers.

We have 900 of these mobile hotspots ready now for checkout at Select Libraries.

And don't worry, if you can't remember all of that, all the information you need is on the new website, San Diego.gov backslash SD access.

It includes a tutorial video on how to use a mobile hotspot.

And as always, if you need any help with anything, you can always ask your friendly neighborhood librarian.

And now I'd like to introduce one of the city's partners in this initiative, Cox Communications Senior Vice President Sam Aticia, whose organization helped make today possible.

Thank you, uh Mayor Gloria, Councilmember Ilo Rivera, and uh Library Director Jones.

Good morning, everyone.

In his first state of the city address, Mayor Gloria set out a bold vision for the future of San Diego that included increasing internet access and adoption in our community.

Cox Communications shares that vision and has a long-standing commitment to bridging the digital divide in all the communities that we serve.

We do that by partnering with community organizations and innovative cities like San Diego to open tech centers, Wi-Fi access points, and support connectivity at our parks and libraries.

We're also bringing digital equity to students through our Connect to Compete program, which provides for 995 a month broadband internet access and Wi-Fi at home to low-income families.

The Mayor San Diego Access for All Initiative is an important effort by the city that will help all San Diegans with their connectivity needs.

And Cox is honored that our best in class network is helping the city connect its residents.

We're proud to support Mayor Gloria and Councilmember Ilo Rivera to increase broadband adoption in San Diego and bridge the digital divide.

On behalf of Cox Communications, all of our employees, we look forward to the continued work in partnership with the city, Mayor Gloria, the entire city council to keep all San Diego connected.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sam.

As a proud Cox customer, I appreciate that some of what I send you every month is going to help spread this out to the rest of the community.

That's exactly as it should be.

Truly grateful for Cox Communication and ATT for being partners in this effort.

And I certainly appreciate Jonathan Banke, who is a man of few words this morning, but that's because he gets the job done.

He doesn't have to talk a lot.

He just gets stuff done.

Jonathan, I truly appreciate what you and your team at IT does.

I'm gonna wrap up by just saying we know in the last year, again, how important the internet is for so many folks.

This is how our kids have learned.

This is how many of us have earned a paycheck.

That's how a lot of folks have stayed connected with family members.

The city is stepping up in a way that it never has before to make sure that whether it's the equipment like laptops and hotspots or the access to access to the internet at public Wi-Fi stations like here at the city library or at neighborhood hotspots that we're bridging in that gap.

53,000 San Diegans without uh direct access of their own.

This is knocking down that distance.

It's giving more of those San Diegans a chance at the opportunities this city provides, opportunities that Councilmember Elo Avere and I have experienced in our own lives.

This is going to give more San Diegans a chance to experience that opportunity.

I'm again grateful for the partnership, public and private and nonprofit that made this possible.

We're happy to take questions uh uh on one-on-one off this side.

Uh but again, I think this is a good day.