Just in time for the start of school, Comcast is expanding a program aimed at narrowing the digital divide.
The Internet Essentials program offers $10 monthly broadband service to families with kids who are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
Starting this school year, any student at a school with 70% of students on free and reduced lunch is automatically eligible.
Miami-Dade schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho was on hand for the announcement:
"This partnership to bring affordable connectivity to parents and students is a moral imperative in our communities", Carvalho said.
The Internet Essentials program is available in all of Comcast’s service areas, including Palm Beach, Broward, Miami Dade and Monroe counties.
David Cohen, Executive Vice President with Comcast, says that the digital divide is about more than access to broadband internet.
It’s also about access to high-quality education materials and support online.
"The cruel irony is that the kids who live in those lower income neighborhoods arguably need the educational and enhancement enrichment more than the kids who are getting it", said Cohen. "So instead of closing gaps, we’re accelerating differences and that is precisely what this program is designed to ameliorate."