Comcast's Internet Essentials Program will now expand eligibility to Federal Pell Grants recipients. The Internet Essentials is a broad far reaching program designed to help qualifying residents get internet access in various ways. They offer a $9.95 per month internet plan (which can become free through the Emergency Broadband Benefit, a temporary subsidy program from the federal government) and public Lift Zones which allow access to the internet in locations around the Philadelphia area. Comcast also pledged to donate $15 million worth of internet service and equipment, including more than 25,000 laptops to low-income students, seniors, veterans, and adults. These investments are part of Project UP, a $1 billion dollar commitment to reach 50 million people made by Comcast.
The article mentions research that has shown the biggest obstacles facing low-income families getting high speed internet are housing security, literacy challenges, language barriers, and broadband reliability issues. Comcast's attempts to address these challenges include offering low-cost broadband at home, subsidized affordable computer purchasing options, access to free wifi in community centers, and numerous options to acquire the digital skills needed to learn online and use the internet. The article does not directly state what these options are, but previous articles have mentioned classes at Lift Zones.
The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest source of grant aid for students pursuing a post secondary education, and now all grant recipients are eligible for Internet Essentials. We are currently facing a global semiconductor and chip shortage, while 25,000 laptops is most likely not a lot for a company like Comcast, I do wonder if these laptops are now going to be of lower quality because of this shortage. Technical specifications are not mentioned anywhere in the article, and while almost any basic laptop can handle basic online education, specialized fields such as animation, some kinds of programming, and editing might require more powerful laptops.
Yahoo Finance, 25 October 2021, "Comcast Expands Internet Essentials to Federal Pell Grant Recipients and Pledges $15M to Get Even More Americans Connected", contributed by Andrew Rosenthal, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 25 October 2021, accessed 30 December 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/comcast-expands-internet-essentials-federal-pell-grant-recipients-and-pledges-15m-get-even
Critical Commentary
Comcast's Internet Essentials Program will now expand eligibility to Federal Pell Grants recipients. The Internet Essentials is a broad far reaching program designed to help qualifying residents get internet access in various ways. They offer a $9.95 per month internet plan (which can become free through the Emergency Broadband Benefit, a temporary subsidy program from the federal government) and public Lift Zones which allow access to the internet in locations around the Philadelphia area. Comcast also pledged to donate $15 million worth of internet service and equipment, including more than 25,000 laptops to low-income students, seniors, veterans, and adults. These investments are part of Project UP, a $1 billion dollar commitment to reach 50 million people made by Comcast.
The article mentions research that has shown the biggest obstacles facing low-income families getting high speed internet are housing security, literacy challenges, language barriers, and broadband reliability issues. Comcast's attempts to address these challenges include offering low-cost broadband at home, subsidized affordable computer purchasing options, access to free wifi in community centers, and numerous options to acquire the digital skills needed to learn online and use the internet. The article does not directly state what these options are, but previous articles have mentioned classes at Lift Zones.
The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest source of grant aid for students pursuing a post secondary education, and now all grant recipients are eligible for Internet Essentials. We are currently facing a global semiconductor and chip shortage, while 25,000 laptops is most likely not a lot for a company like Comcast, I do wonder if these laptops are now going to be of lower quality because of this shortage. Technical specifications are not mentioned anywhere in the article, and while almost any basic laptop can handle basic online education, specialized fields such as animation, some kinds of programming, and editing might require more powerful laptops.