“This is an important step forward for families that struggle to keep up in an increasingly digital world”, said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of The USHCC. “More than 32 percent of HUD-funded affordable housing residents have someone at least 62 years old living with them”.
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Between 2009 and 2014, broadband service providers spent over $422 billion on capital investments, and three in four American households now use broadband at home.
About one quarter of U.S. households lack access to high-speed internet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today’s announcement furthers this vision, benefiting students of all ages. The other Internet Essentials eligibility criteria are that the customer can not have outstanding debt to Comcast that is less than a year old and the customer must not have subscribed to Comcast internet service within the last 90 days. The company originally only offered the discounted price to families with school-aged children who were part of the school lunch program.
More than 2,100 Madison County residents are now eligible for the program. Eligibility, however, was determined by whether children in families were receiving school lunch aid.
A pilot for connecting people in public housing began in March, but it is now rolling out in full. As a result, Comcast estimates auto-enrollment now applies to about half of the 48,000 schools across its service area.
The two controversial eligibility criteria that have been in place since the start of the program remain active: families can not have outstanding debt with Comcast that is less than a year old and customers must not have subscribed to regular Comcast internet service within the last 90 days. Also since 2011, Comcast reports it has invested more than $280 million in cash and in-kind support to help fund digital literacy training and education initiatives, reaching almost 4.4 million people through national and local nonprofit community partners. Users also can buy a computer for $150 and attend free tech training classes.
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There is no installation fee, and subscribers will get a free Wi-Fi router.
