ConnectHome is a brand new initiative announced by the White House recently that was developed by The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Obama Administration, which aims to deliver high-speed broadband to more families all over the U.S. The White House acknowledged that “too many lower-income children go unplugged every afternoon when school ends” since their homes do not have high-speed access as do the homes of middle-class students.
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“Over half of lowest income Americans don’t have internet at home”, said Jeff Zeints, national economic council director. “I welcome the President’s initiative as a way to connect more students and their families, and I will continue to push my legislation to help close the homework gap and ensure our students have the tools they need to succeed”. At this point, Google Fiber is available in the Kansas City area; Austin, Texas; and Provo, Utah but Google plans to soon expand it to Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C; Nashville, Tenn.; Salt Lake City; Phoenix, Portland, Ore., San Antonio; and San Jose, Calif.
The tech giant has promised to provide free internet to residents of certain public and affordable housing schemes in the United States. CenturyLink is planning to release a low-priced monthly Internet in Washington and Cox Communication is also gearing up to do the same in Louisiana.
More than 5,500 families live in 20 public housing properties in Nashville, according to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, but Google Fiber won’t necessarily be connecting all of them for free.
Access to free Internet and computer training will help put lower income students on a more level playing field with middle class peers, said Michael Gross, Martha O’Bryan chief program officer.
The agency will collaborate with private and public sector leaders to “build local partnerships and gather commitments that will increase access to the Internet for low-income Americans”.
Although Google already offers a free tier of Internet as part of its Google Fiber service, it is now waiving the $300 installation fee.
Google says the move is inspired by its participation in a similar Austin program called Unlocking the Connection.
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Several other private sector supporters, including Best Buy, PBS, and the College Board, have also pledged to provide training and other services as part of the ConnectHome project.
