David Cohen Comecast
In South Florida, Comcast announced the biggest expansion of its Internet Essentials program to date. All low-income households in the company’s service area are now eligible to participate in Internet Essentials, which is the nation’s largest, most successful and most comprehensive broadband adoption program.
David L. Cohen, Comcast Senior EVP and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast NBCUniversal, made the announcement in Miami with CareerSource South Florida. In addition, Comcast announced it will provide a US$25,000 grant to CareerSource South Florida for adaptive devices and digital skills training for people with disabilities.
“This expansion is the culmination of an audacious goal we set eight years ago, which was to meaningfully and significantly close the digital divide for low-income Americans. Whether the Internet is used by students to do their homework, adults to look for and apply for new jobs, seniors to keep in touch with friends and family, or veterans to access their well-deserved benefits or medical assistance, it is absolutely essential to success in our modern, digital age,” said Cohen.
The expansion is the most significant change in the program’s history and the Company estimates that nearly three million additional low-income households are now eligible to apply. This number includes nearly 360,000 residents across the state of Florida, which is ranked second in the nation in terms of overall participation in the program.
The company also announced that since August 2011, it has connected more than eight million low-income individuals to the Internet at home, most for the very first time, including nearly 880,000 in the state of Florida. This announcement follows 11 prior eligibility expansions, including last year’s extension of the program to low-income veterans.
