Comcast partners with HUD for Internet Essentials rollout to public housing nationwide

Looks like the Internet Essentials pilot for households in Philly’s public housing system back in March proved its worth.
Comcast announced Friday a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its ConnectHome initiative to bring the low-cost broadband program to some 2 million homes across Comcast’s national coverage area.
Internet Essential provides high-speed internet service for $9.95 a month plus tax, and the option to buy an internet-ready computer for under $150 and access to free digital literacy training. This recent announcement marks the ninth expansion to the program since its inception in 2011.
“Today’s announcement has the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids across the nation by giving them the tools to reach their full potential,” HUD secretary Julián Castro said in a press release. “We’re grateful to Comcast for joining the ConnectHome initiative, which has extended its reach to more than 1.5 million children in one short year.”
The groups of newly eligible residents for Internet Essentials are those people in federal housing assistance or those who live in public housing that is city- or state-funded. Here in Philly, the total applicant pool is 35,000 residents, Comcast says, including those already in the local public housing pilot program.
The two controversial eligibility criteria that have been in place since the start of the program remain active: families cannot have outstanding debt with Comcast that is less than a year old and customers must not have subscribed to regular Comcast internet service within the last 90 days.
Both points have raised discussion in Philly and were a key part of the franchise agreement talks between Comcast and the city. As a workaround for the latter, a city-funded initiative was created to waive the 90-day window.
“This is an important step,” said Media Mobilizing Project Policy Director Hannah Sassaman. “Comcast and HUD are doing important and urgent work expanding internet access to millions of people nationwide who have struggled to afford it. That said, we shouldn’t have to wait for periodic Comcast Internet Essentials ‘enhancements’ for millions of people to be able to get internet they and their families can afford.”
Sassaman stated that Comcast should expand Internet Essentials to all low-income communities in the country, not make customers who couldn’t afford previous Comcast service pay back their old bills before accessing Internet Essentials if those bills are less than a year old, and not force customers currently subscribing to Comcast service to turn it off for 90 days before qualifying for the new program.
And what does this mean for Wilco Electronic Systems, the main provider of communications services for Philly public housing? According to Wilco Executive Vice President Brigitte Daniel, the initiative is still being deployed and laid, but her company is “willing to work with all of the partners and continuing to bridge the digital divide.”