Libraries To Get 10 Times Faster Internet

For more than a year, the local software giant OSIsoft has been developing an underground ring of fiber optic cables that will turn San Leandro into one of the .

Backers call the project Lit San Leandro.

On September 24th, the public will get a taste of what it's like to be "lit" when the city flips the switch that plugs its libraries into this fiber optic ring -- giving library patrons Internet service 10 times faster than they enjoy today.

Like many communities, San Leandro offers two types of Internet service through its libraries.

1. Residents without computers can sign up to use of one the 113 desktop computers located in the various branches.
2. Patrons who own laptops can bring in their machines to use the library's wi-fi connection.

Heretofore, both of those services have been fed by a 10 megabit per second link to the Internet.

And if you've ever used it, you know it can be slooo-ooow.

But that will change on September 24th, when the library taps into the fiber loop and gains access to a 100 megabit per second feed.

That should deliver a 10-fold speed boost to Internet users at the Main Library, the Manor Branch and the South Branch, all of which are linked by cabling.

But the fourth library, the Mulford-Marina Branch, is off the main grid and won't immediately get this speed rush.

The city is planning a ceremony to celebrate this milestone and will issue a press release with details soon.

Patch discovered this imminent upgrade while checking out a reader's tip: the desktop computers used inside the library have been down since Saturday.

In asking why this was so, Patch learned that the router, or central controller, for these in-house computers had crashed when the city tested the new fiber option connection.

The router was apparently on its last legs and the extra speed pushed it over the edge. A replacement is on the way, and should arrive on or before Friday -- at which time those 113 in-house computers can be brought back on line.

Meanwhile, the wi-fi service to patrons with laptops remains in operation -- though slow -- until the 24th, when the library network gets its speed boost.

Here is information about library locations and hours.

Here is an archive of stories about San Leandro's Innovation Economy.

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