Internet speed raised for qualifying customers

Comcast boosts its program

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Comcast Corp. will increase the internet speeds offered in its program that provides high-speed internet to low-income households.

The company announced this week that internet speeds for participants in its Internet Essentials program will be increased in the fall to 15 Mbps of download speeds and 2 Mbps of upload speeds.

The program will also add 40 hours per month of free out-ofh o m e X f i n i t y W i F i hotspots.

Since it began in 2011, one million households have enrolled in Internet Essentials, including nearly 12,000 in the Pittsburgh metro area, according to Comcast.

The program costs $9.95 per month, plus tax, and is available to households with children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school, public housing residents and, in some markets, to lowincome seniors and community college students.

Forty hours per month of free hotspots are the equivalent of two hours of out-ofhome access per school night, said David L. Cohen, Comcast’s senior executive vice president and chief diversity officer.

Sixty-two percent of Internet Essentials customers said having the internet service helped someone in their household find employment, according to Comcast.

Ninety-eight percent said their children use the service to do homework, and 93 percent said the program has had a positive impact on their child’s grades.

Mr. Cohen said the company is “thrilled” by that last result.

“That is also a depressing statistic when you think about what those children were doing to do their homework before the program,” he said.

For more information about Internet Essentials: www.internetessentials. or 1-855-8468376.