Information Technology
The City of San Diego is working to close the digital divide that leaves tens of thousands of San Diegans without internet access. Through the SD Access 4 All program, the City is offering free internet access at hundreds of locations with new wireless networks and providing more opportunities than ever to help you take a free ride to cyberspace!
Check out the map below to find a location near you with free internet. Don’t have a web-enabled device? The City provides laptops and cellular hotspots for check out at select neighborhood libraries and is introducing a new City-sponsored home internet service for qualified San Diegans. Scroll down for more details and get connected today!
The City offers free internet access at over 300 locations and counting, including select libraries, parks, recreation centers, schools and other popular spots in neighborhoods across the city.
The City has added hundreds of new laptops to the Library’s collection that are available to check out and use on-site at neighborhood libraries, depending on availability. Laptops can be checked out for up to two hours at a time.
Through SD Access 4 All, the City has acquired 900 cellular hotspots that are now available to check out from libraries. A cellular hotspot is a device that converts cell signals into Wi-Fi to provide internet access for email, web browsing and other data transfers. This allows an individual to use their smartphone to act as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot if they have a cell signal, for example. Library patrons can check out a cellular hotspot for up to 30 days at a time.
The City has created 10 outdoor community computer labs to serve patrons of all ages. Each lab is equipped with free Wi-Fi and has tables and chairs set up with appropriate physical distancing. Patrons can bring their own laptop or check one out from the library to get connected.
If you have questions about any of the Library’s free offerings, please ask a librarian during your next visit.
Through SD Access 4 All, the City is excited to sponsor six months of free at-home internet services to as many as 1,000 low-income residences that do not currently have internet access. If there are over 1,000 applications, the City will use a lottery to select qualified individuals.
This opportunity for City-sponsored home internet service is open to all City of San Diego residents who provide proof of low income and who currently do not have internet service at their residence.
The City is giving away its end-of-life computers so they can be refurbished and given to individuals who do not currently have a computer. Through a partnership with San Diego Futures Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in City Heights, the City has donated over 2,200 computers to help bridge the digital divide so far and plans to provide about 800 more each year.
As part of this partnership, the Futures Foundation provides training to help recipients of the computers get off to a quick start and provide them with the resources to find affordable internet services.
The SD Access 4 All program is brought to you for a public purpose by the City of San Diego and its partners. The San Diego Parks Foundation helped support free Wi-Fi at two dozen parks locations while the San Diego Public Library Foundation supported the Library’s outdoor community computer labs and laptop expansion.
Have time for a voluntary survey? We need your feedback to properly serve the community and identify needs. Help us make the SD Access 4 All program better for all of us.