My parents saved up for over a year in order to purchase a set of encyclopedias for my brother and me. These books were considered essential to our education.
Today, encyclopedias are ancient relics but the internet has replaced their importance in helping students succeed at school. Yet, in many low-income neighborhoods, few students have broadband access. Enter Internet Essentials, a program started in 2011 by Comcast to help bridge the digital divide.
Internet Essentials provides eligible low-income families with broadband access for only $9.95 per month. But while more than 2.3 million families are considered eligible, to date, only 100,000 have signed up.
To qualify a family must have at least one child who is eligible to receive free or reduced price school lunches under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). As part of the program, Comcast also offers a voucher that allows families to purchase a low-cost computer for $149.99.
With such a good deal, why haven’t more low-income families taken advantage of it?
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Comcast says it has found that the biggest barrier to Internet Essentials’ adoption is that many people in poor neighborhoods don’t understand the Internet.
“They think it may be used for Comcast or the government to spy on them,” said David Cohen, the program’s chief booster and an executive vice president at Comcast.
Other officials say many residents believe that the discounted service is a scam and don’t apply, or haven’t heard about it.
Comcast excuses as to why more families haven’t taken advantage of Internet Essentials sound dubious at best. Seriously Comcast? Poor neighborhoods don’t understand the internet?
To be sure, Comcast isn’t offering the program out of the kindness of their heart, especially considering their internet services generally start at $49 a month. Implementing the discount internet service was one of the conditions set forth by federal regulators before they allowed Comcast to acquire NBC in a deal valued at 13.75 billion.
Comcast may want to look at some more obvious barriers to the program. Internet Essentials is not available to anyone who has subscribed to Comcast internet service within the last 90 days.
A low-income family that’s been struggling to pay for expensive Comcast internet service would therefore not qualify. This has many experts suggesting that these families drop their Comcast service for 3 months in order to qualify for the much cheaper Internet Essentials service.
In addition, any family that has an overdue Comcast bill is ineligible. How many families do you know who don’t have late bills?
The company has vowed to step up efforts to increase participation in its low cost internet service. They’ve recently tapped Superbowl winning coach Tony Dungy to serve as national spokesperson for the program.
“We’re honored that Tony has agreed to be a national spokesman for Internet Essentials and we’re confident that his involvement will help us make even more progress to close the digital divide,” announced Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen.
The company is also partnering with the US Department of Labor and school districts across the country to increase awareness of the program.
If you or someone you know qualifies for Comcast’s Internet Essentials, visit www.internetessentials.com for more information on how you can obtain broadband internet access on the cheap.
BWMK, do you think Comcast is right when it says the biggest barrier to people signing up for its low cost internet service is that many people in poor neighborhoods don’t understand the internet?