Comcast just opened up its low-cost internet program to more people

Comcast says it is expanding a program designed to provide lower-cost internet.
In a partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), anyone who receives federal housing assistance will be able to apply for Comcast’s $9.95-a-month Internet Essentials program, our sister site Technical.ly Philly reports.
The move comes following upgrades to the service last year.
It’s not immediately clear how many new eligible households will be added in Baltimore. Comcast expanded Internet Essentials here in the fall as part of a wider education push. In that move, every household with a student in city public schools became eligible for Internet Essentials. Nationally, about 1.3 million of the 2 million HUD-assisted households in Comcast service areas are newly eligible.
It remains another reminder of the digital divide. Baltimore’s 31,000 HUD-assisted households are the fourth-largest of any Comcast service in the nation. In terms of states, Maryland has the eighth-largest number, with 88,000.
Baltimore is currently negotiating a renewal of the cable franchise agreement with Comcast. That agreement does not formally involve internet service, but Internet Essentials became a part of the final agreement reached in Philadelphia last year.