As more and more Americans in need of internet access are being left behind, Comcast is urgently working to close the digital divide through its Internet Essentials program.
“The more the internet advances, the further it leaves people without internet access behind,” said David L. Cohen, senior executive VP and chief diversity officer of Comcast NBCUniversal.
In closing this gap, Comcast partnered with The Women’s Foundation of Colorado to announce the expansion of the Internet Essentials program both here in Colorado and nationwide.
In August, Comcast expanded eligibility for the broadband adoption program to include all qualified low-income households in its service area.
The expansion is the most significant change in the program’s history and the company estimates that nearly 3 million additional low-income households, including households with people with disabilities, are now eligible to apply.
This number includes nearly 118,000 residents across Colorado, which is ranked 11th in the nation in terms of overall participation. More than 50,000 people across Denver, Aurora and Lakewood are currently accessing low-cost internet at home through Internet Essentials.
In a luncheon co-hosted by The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Cohen was joined by 2018 USA Women’s Hockey Olympic gold-medalists, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando to speak on the importance of this program and equal treatment.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Comcast to help close the digital divide here in Colorado,” the Lamoureux twins said in a statement. “It’s crucial that we help all low-income Americans gain an internet connection at home, especially to provide access for women and their families, so everyone has a fair playing field on which to compete in life.”
Since August 2011, Internet Essentials has connected more than 8 million low-income individuals to the internet at home, including more than 300,000 in Colorado. To be eligible to apply to the program, low-income applicants need to show they are participating in one of more than a dozen different federal assistance programs.
Cohen said this digital divide is representative of a number of equity issues plaguing the nation and that it was necessary for Comcast to do whatever it could to address it.
“This is a critical, overarching equity issue, and we’re closing the digital divide by connecting more families to the internet,” he said.
