Part of merger deal, Comcast must provide low-income students with temporary broadband Internet
Cable and Internet provider Comcast has launched a program to provide affordable high-speed Internet access to low-income families that have at least one child receiving free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program . # According to Community Broadband Networks, “as a condition of its massive merger with NBC , the federal government is requiring Comcast to make affordable Internet connections available to 2.5 million low-income households for the next two years.” The organizaton adds that “it was only after the federal government mandated a low-cost option for disadvantaged households that Comcast realized everyone could benefit from access to the Internet.” # Community Broadband Networks provides “news, information, research, and connections to the nation-wide movement of building broadband networks that are directly accountable to the community they serve.” # The Miami Herald reported last week that the Miami-Dade School district will partner with Comcast to offer needy families discount high-speed Internet, computers and training.
“„“Access to the Internet is akin to a civil rights issue for the 21st Century,” said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president. “It’s that access that enables people in poorer areas to equalize access to a quality education, quality healthcare and vocational opportunities.” #
“„We believe that affordable, high-speed Internet is an essential part of our national infrastructure—as important to the health of communities as clean water, highways or the electrical grid. We work with partners around the country to help ensure that reasonably priced, high-speed Web access develops as a right and a resource for all Americans and all communities, affluent or low-income, urban or rural. #
