WASHINGTON — Comcast kicked off the third year of its Internet Essentials broadband subsidy program at an event here last week.
Federal Communications Commission member Jessica Rosenworcel and Alma Powell, mother of former FCC chairman and current National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Michael Powell, joined Comcast executive vice president David Cohen at the Neval Thomas Elementary School in Southeast Washington to celebrate the milestone.
The Internet Essentials program provides low-cost broadband ($9.95 per month) and computer equipment (less than $150) to low-income homes with school-aged kids.
Comcast unveiled some program milestones: 220,000 people have enrolled since the program’s launch in August 2011; 20,000 have attended free training sessions; 18,000 subsidized computers have been provided for under $150; $25 million worth of public-service advertisements have aired.
Comcast also announced a new partnership with DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative to increase digital literacy and adoption in the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood in Northeast Washington.
