Adamari Lopez
Comcast announced that Adamari López, host of Telemundo’s Un Nuevo Día, returns for the second year as the Hispanic ambassador for Internet Essentials, the largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income families in the U.S.
The company recently announced that since the program’s launch in 2011, it has connected more than six million low-income Americans 55 percent (or 3.3 million) which are Latino. This year alone the company connected more than two million, a 50 percent increase, which is the largest annual increase in the program’s history.
According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey, 81 percent of all U.S. households subscribe to broadband at home, but only 63 percent of households with an annual income of less than US$35,000 do. To attack that problem, Internet Essentials has addressed each of the three major barriers to broadband adoption that research has identified. These include a lack of digital literacy skills, the lack of a computer, and the absence of a low-cost Internet service.
Internet Essentials provides low-cost, high-speed Internet service for US$9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under US$150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online, and in person. The program is also structured as a partnership between Comcast and tens of thousands of school districts, libraries, elected officials, and nonprofit community partners.
“Through Internet Essentials, we are working to narrow the digital divide, which not only has an immediate impact on millions of families now, but also has a long-term effect on our socio-economic outlook because it ensures that everyone, including children, have an even playing field,” said López.
Comcast´s Internet Essentials connects more than 220,000 families to the Internet
