Comcast Expands Low-Income Internet Program

Comcast’s new program designed to offer affordable Internet to low-income families is expanding after signing up 41,000 households in the first five months.

David Cohen, Comcast’s executive vice president, announced Tuesday that the company is expanding  to families of children on reduced school lunches. The plan previously only permitted children who were receiving free school lunches to enroll in the program.

He estimated that will increase the reach of the program by about 10 percent to nearly 3.2 million families in Comcast’s coverage area.

“It is impossible for me to overstate the huge amount of work … to make this program operational,” Cohen said of the progress since it launched in August.

Cohen added that the company hopes to streamline the application process, expand community outreach and double the speed of the Internet service to make it more attractive. Half of the approved applicants said they were made aware of the program through the school system, he said.

“One of the things we’ve learned through research is that schools are our most important partners,” Cohen said.

The company is also looking at ways to lower the costs of the computers, which are $150 per unit, because the sale of about 5,500 were less than expected. That might be because many of those low-income families said they already had computers, but needed training on how to use them.

For more information about the low-income “Internet Essentials” program, go to www.internetessentials.com or call 1-855-8-INTERNET.

Related Topics: $9.95 Internet Plan, Comcast, Free School Lunches, Internet Essentials, Low-Income Internet, Reduced lunches, and low-income families