Comcast is doubling the download speed of its discounted Internet Essentials broadband service for low-income families, and will begin providing Wi-Fi service, including a Wi-Fi router, at no additional cost in Chattanooga.
The telecom giant also plans to expand its discounted Internet Essentials service to low-income senior citizens, starting in Palm Beach, Fla., but eventually reaching Chattanooga and other markets.
Internet Essentials, which offers Internet service to low-income households for $9.95 a month, is Comast's government-approved effort to close the "digital divide" - the term used to describe the lack of high-speed Internet service among impoverished populations. Comcast agreed to offer Internet Essentials as it was seeking regulatory approvals to acquire NBCUniversal, the news and entertainment giant. The NBCUniversal deal closed in early 2011.
FILE - This Feb. 11, 2011 file photo shows the Comcast logo on one of the company's vehicles, in Pittsburgh. Wall Street appears increasingly convinced Comcast’s $45.2 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable is dead. telling indicator is the gap between the value Comcast’s all-stock bid assigned to each Time Warner Cable share and Time Warner Cable stock’s current price. That was at its widest point yet Thursday, April 23, 2015, a signal that investors are giving just 20 to 30 percent odds that the deal will go through, said Nomura analyst Adam Ilkowitz. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) Now entering its fifth year, Internet Essentials is the nation's largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program and has connected more than 13,500 Tennessee families. It provides high-speed Internet service and gives such families the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150, and multiple options for free digital literacy training.
"The Digital Divide isn't confined to certain buildings or neighborhoods in Chattanooga or in any other city or town," Comcast Regional Senior Vice President Doug Guthrie said in a statement. "From day one, our goal has been to make Internet Essentials available wherever inequality exists, and to keep enhancing and expanding the program to serve the broadest number of families possible across entire communities, wherever they might be located."
Nationwide, Comcast's Internet Essentials has connected more than 500,000 families, or more than 2 million low-income Americans, at discounted rates. Since the program's inception, Comcast has made 25 key enhancements to Internet Essentials, and this is the third time in four years Comcast has increased speeds for customers.
The current speed is doubling to up to 10 Mbps downstream, which is enough to power multiple devices simultaneously. In addition, by offering Wi-Fi routers, customers will be able to connect any Internet-enabled device, including tablets and smartphones, which could help save money on monthly wireless bills.
To receive the faster Internet speed, customers simply need to reboot their cable modems. Existing customers who would like a Wi-Fi router just need to call the dedicated call center and either request to have one shipped to them for free, or they can schedule a professional installation, also for no additional cost.
To qualify for Comcast's Internet Essentials program, families must have at least one child eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Programs.
Comcast said it will offer its Internet Essentials program to senior citizens who earn $35,000 a year or less, but the program will not be immediately available in most of the country. Details were still being worked out, said David Cohen, executive vice president at Comcast.
Some restrictions could prevent a family from qualifying for Internet Essentials. If a family already purchases an Internet service from Comcast, for instance, they won't qualify for the discounted Internet Essentials price. Comcast also does not generally offer the service to families with past-due cable bills.
"We have tried everything in our power to make this as easy as possible," Cohen said of Internet Essentials as it relates to enrollment.
Comcast says 500,000 families have enrolled in Internet Essentials since it was first offered in late 2011 and it is the most successful program of its type in the cable industry.
Comcast has not disclosed how many of the 500,000 families have dropped out of the program over its existence or its current enrollment.
For more information or to apply for the program, visit www.InternetEssentials.com or call 855-846-8376, or, for Spanish, 855-765-6995.