P.E.I. libraries offer portable Wi-Fi hotspots for people without internet

MacKenzie Hope, Susan Graham, and Minister of Education and Early Years Robin Croucher are pictured. (Source: Government of Prince Edward Island)

Prince Edward Island residents who don’t have internet access can now borrow portable Wi-Fi hotspots from provincial libraries.

The Charlottetown Library Learning Centre Foundation bought the 20 hotspots over the last year through fundraising and a $20,000 grant from the Rotary Literacy Foundation of PEI.

Anyone 16 years or older with a library card can borrow the devices, according to a news release from the province.

“Adding these devices to our collection will help provide Islanders with fair access to the internet,” said Robin Croucher, minister of education and early years, in the release. “It’s a good way to bridge the digital divide so that Islanders without access can better participate in society and enjoy the advantages of being on-line.”

The devices will have content filters to block illegal and malicious content. Overdue devices will have their internet data shut off remotely.

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