‘Internet Essentials’ to Provide Families with Children Eligible for a Free Lunch under the National School Lunch Program with Low-Cost Internet Service, Affordable Computers and Digital Literacy Training’
Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell are just a few of the elected and community leaders who came out in support of Comcast and their Internet Essentials program. Today Comcast hosted a briefing and discussion about the best-in-class broadband inclusion programs at the Ben Hooks Central Library.
Comcast Corporate Vice President Payne Brown and Comcast Memphis Vice-President/General Manager Trevor Yant launched a new national initiative called Internet Essentials in the Mid-south, which is being viewed as the most ambitious and comprehensive broadband adoption program in the Mid-south to date.
The program addresses what research has identified the three primary barriers to broadband adoption:
- A lack of understanding of how the Internet is relevant and useful
- The cost of a home computer, and
- The cost of high-speed Internet service
Available to low-income families living in Comcast’s service areas with children who are eligible to receive a free lunch under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the goal of Internet Essentials is to help ensure more American families benefit from all the Internet has to offer.
According to Brown, “Access to the Internet has the potential to be a great equalizer and a life-changing technology. Internet Essentials helps level the playing field for low-income families. Access to broadband in student’s homes will help them connect with their teachers and their school’s educational resources as well as enabling parents to do things like apply for jobs online or use the Internet to learn more about healthcare and government services available where they live.”
First Lady Haslam discussed the importance of Internet Essentials and how parents can work with their children with this technology. “A home computer with Internet service creates opportunity for low-income families to access valuable information, connected to helpful resources, and create a line of communication with their child’s school teacher,” said Haslam.
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. echoes the importance of having access to the Internet. “As the world gets more and more technologically savvy, we have a responsibility to prepare the children of Memphis and Shelby County,” said Wharton. “Information is increasingly flowing to the Internet; even to apply for a job, any job, within the City of Memphis, a person has to apply online. Gone are the days when having a computer access or knowledge was optional; now those are essential. This program will help us eliminate the digital divide and better position this county for additional educational achievement and economic opportunities.”
“Computers have now taken the place of the chalkboards in many classrooms,” said Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell, Jr. “Homework often calls for assignments to be done through the Internet. This program will help ensure all students, especially those from families with limited funds, to have the same opportunities. “
“As America increasingly becomes a digital nation, in-classroom learning is being supplemented with digital curriculums and at-home assignments,” said Martavius Jones, President, Memphis City Schools. “Internet Essentials will help more low-income families benefit from the educational resources and assistance the Internet provides.”
Service Details:
Qualified Internet Essentials families will receive:
- Residential Internet service for $9.95 a month + applicable taxes
- No price increases, no activation fees, or equipment rental fees
- A voucher to purchase a low-cost computer for $149.99 + tax
- Access to free digital literacy training in print, online, and in person
Additional benefits include a complementary Norton™ Security Suite ($160 value) for comprehensive online security protection.
Eligibility:
A household is eligible to participate in the Internet Essentials program if it meets all of the following criteria:
- Is located where Comcast offers Internet service
- At least one child who is eligible to receive a free school lunch under the NSLP
- Has not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days
- Does not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment
Comcast will sign up eligible families in the program for at least three years, through the end of the 2013-2014 school years. Any household that qualifies during this three-year period will remain eligible for Internet Essentials provided a child eligible for a free lunch remains living in the household.
For general information about Internet Essentials, please visit www.internetessentials.com for English and visit www.internetbasico.com for Spanish. Educators or third-parties interested in helping to spread the word can find more information at www.internetessentials.com/partner. Parents looking to enroll in the program can call 1-855-846-8376 or, for Spanish, 1-855-765-6995.
About Comcast Corporation:
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.