Philadelphia is extending it's free PHLConnectED program, which provides no cost connections, to families who have children recieving special education services or are English-language learners, and those who participate in public benefit programs with income qualifications
City officials announced the change on Monday, November 14th. The $17 million program is mostly paid for by philantrhopy and will last through June 2022, though many organizers hope to see it last far beyond that date.
PHLConnectED has money to connect up to 35,000 families. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. estimates 18,000 families are still not connected to the internet, but city officials have since backed away from that number. They stated such a number cannot be accurately calculated.
Anonymous, 14 December 2020, " Free internet access available for some now struggling to afford it, city says", contributed by Andrew Rosenthal, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 21 December 2020, accessed 31 August 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/free-internet-access-available-some-now-struggling-afford-it-city-says
Critical Commentary
Philadelphia is extending it's free PHLConnectED program, which provides no cost connections, to families who have children recieving special education services or are English-language learners, and those who participate in public benefit programs with income qualifications
City officials announced the change on Monday, November 14th. The $17 million program is mostly paid for by philantrhopy and will last through June 2022, though many organizers hope to see it last far beyond that date.
PHLConnectED has money to connect up to 35,000 families. Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. estimates 18,000 families are still not connected to the internet, but city officials have since backed away from that number. They stated such a number cannot be accurately calculated.