Comcast launching low-cost Internet

By Leslie Brooks Suzukamo | Pioneer Press

Comcast, the largest cable operator in the Twin Cities and the nation, on Thursday will use St. Paul's Neighborhood House as the backdrop to unveil a program offering fast Internet access to low-income Twin Cities families for $10 a month.

Comcast's program, called Internet Essentials, is a national effort to help bridge the "digital divide" for low-income families who cannot afford the high cost of Internet broadband. The program will enroll families for three years, but those families potentially could continue to use it until their children graduate high school, according to company officials.

"We're transforming the way low-income households can adopt broadband," Comcast spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert said.

Officials from Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters will announce the program at Neighborhood House, a social service agency that has anchored St. Paul's West Side for decades. Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and St. Paul Schools Superintendent Valeria Silva are scheduled to attend, Comcast said.

Schools are involved because as a way of qualifying families, Comcast is offering the program to those who have children enrolled in the federal school lunch program.

Comcast estimates that 2 million to 3 million households with children in the free or reduced-price lunch program across the country could be eligible for its program, Twin Cities spokeswoman Schubert said. 

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