Posted on 08/08/2011 3:21:34 AM PDT by rawhide
Comcast Corporation is partnering with several metro Atlanta school districts to educate families about a new program to offer discounted Internet access to low-income students.
Today at a morning press conference, Comcast executives along with Mayor Kasim Reed, Gov. Nathan Deal and other area leaders will announce the program, which will be offered to families of students who qualify for free or reduced-priced school lunch.
Families who qualify will receive broadband Internet for $9.95 a month with no activation fee, no modem rental and a voucher to purchase a computer for $149.99. The Atlanta launch is part of the company's larger campaign to shrink the nation's "digital divide" by addressing the barriers to Internet access, according to David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corporation.
"We see the debilitating negativity that is created through the digital divide," Cohen said of the decision to offer the program.
The main reasons people don't have Internet are a mistrust or lack of understanding about how it works, the cost of a home computer and the cost of service, he said. The program could reach 374,000 students in 28 metro Atlanta school districts. The company does not expect the additional subscribers will clog the network for other users.
In Atlanta Public Schools, 78 percent of students qualify for discounted lunch. Statewide, that number is about 56 percent, according to the Georgia Department of Education. Comcast estimates 45 percent of Atlanta residents aren’t connected to broadband.
Atlanta Public Schools Chief Technology Officer Dave Williamson, said the district will be encouraging parents to take advantage of the offer.
"We believe it will be used in large part to support our educational mission by providing students with the means to stay engaged in the learning process beyond the regular class day,” he said.
Uh, doesn't 'nationwide' mean 57 states?
Look for new “internet stamps” to pick up the $9.95.
As I have said before, America is finished.
This was part of the price comcast was literally blackmailed into paying for the deal to take over nbc by the FCC and DOJ.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375935,00.asp
The FCC also imposed several voluntary conditions, though the “volunteer” conditions are enforceable, so Comcast and NBCU must comply. Those include making low-cost broadband service available to 2.5 million households; and maintaining and adding local, children’s, diversity, and educational programming.
Those voluntarily conditions also include complying with the FCC’s open Internet net neutrality rules, Cohen said.
There's a reason many Comcast customer service desks are behind bullet resistant glass.
“Yes, APS are dealing with the fallout from a huge testing scandal.”
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Pubic education was a key target for the Marxist.
They now run the schools and most of the media.
Shoplifting is still cheaper;)
Porn, music videos, and Facebook.
I’m still banging away on this circa 1999 Dell with Windows 2000. When is the gubment going to step in and get someone to pay for my upgrade?
I thought you were joking until I googled your statement. Must be a lot of upset people to deal with at Comcast?
I seem to recall some fee or other being added to everyone’s phone bill to provide internet access to the inner cities. This was during Slick’s administration (ahh, the good old days when the president was only depraved). So what has this fee been paying for all these years, shouldn’t EVERY deadbeat already have free internet porn?
No we can be boss stone cold chillin with a 40, smokin a fatty, surfin the ‘net!
Are there any statistics out there regarding the literacy rates for the target recipients?
>>Must be a lot of upset people to deal with at Comcast?
There’s a reason they are re-branding themselves as Xfinity. Their customer-no-service history has killed Comcast as a brand.
I bet very few are sporting $19.99 sneakers from Pay Less!
You are so right about that!
I believe it's in excess of 70%.
Oh...wait.....I thought you said "legitimacy" rate (i.e., births), but you said "literacy".
Never mind..
Well after this passes, I can see comments on YouTube videos are gonna take another step lower (as if that is possible).
Just another recruiting tool for the community organizer president’s private army.
APS is always on the right side of history, it seems. Black denial and white guilt.
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