Comcast Marks Internet Essentials Program’s 10th Anniversary

Fort Myers FL

25 March, 2021

4:39 PM

Description

On the 10th anniversary of its Internet Essentials program, Comcast today announced it would invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to help further close the digital divide and give even more low-income Americans the tools and resources they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world. In addition, a 10-year Progress Report shows that since Internet Essentials launched in 2011, the company, working in collaboration with its network of thousands of nonprofit partners, has connected more than 10 million people in America to broadband Internet at home, the overwhelming majority of whom were not connected prior to signing up. The state of Florida ranks second in Comcast’s service area for lifetime connections to Internet Essentials with approximately 1,360,000 low-income individuals connected in the past ten years. In Southwest Florida, Lee County had the most connections, with 68,000, followed by Collier County with 34,800, Sarasota County with 19,200 and Charlotte County with 10,800 low-income individuals connected since the program launched in 2011. Comcast’s $1 billion commitment will include investments in several critical areas, including: Additional support for its ongoing Lift Zone initiative, which establishes WiFi-connected safe spaces in 1,000+ community centers nationwide for students and adults by the end of 2021New laptop and computer donationsGrants for nonprofit community organizations to create opportunities for low-income Americans, particularly in media, technology, and entrepreneurshipContinued investment in the Internet Essentials program It is estimated that these new commitments will impact as many as 50 million Americans over the next 10 years. In 2021 alone, Comcast estimates students will be able to complete more than 25 million hours of remote learning lessons to further address the “homework gap” at the hundreds of Lift Zone locations that have already opened or will open soon. This new commitment comes on the heels of a series of initiatives announced during the COVID-19 pandemic that reinforced the company’s commitment to addressing the digital divide and the homework gap by increasing the program’s speed to 50 Mbps downstream without changing the program’s $9.95 a month price. The company also continues to offer 60 days of free Internet service to new Internet Essentials customers who sign up before June 30, 2021.