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Detroit
Mayor,
LT
Governor
join
Comcast
to help
bridge
digital
divide
Company
Surprises
Veterans
with
Laptop
Gifts;
Announces
$25,000
in Local
Grants
Company
expands
eligibility
of its
internet
essentials
program
to reach
all
low-Income
Americans
Michigan
ranks
seventh
in terms
of
overall
participation
in
internet
essentials,
with
440,000
individuals
connected
DETROIT
-
Detroit
Mayor
Mike
Duggan
and
Michigan
Lt. Gov.
Garlin
Gilchrist
II
joined
Comcast
at
Southwest
Solutions
today to
help
close
the
digital
divide
for
low-income
families,
students,
veterans,
and
people
with
disabilities.
At the
event,
Comcast
surprised
150
low-income
veterans
with
free
laptops
and
announced
a
$25,000
grant to
Southwest
Solutions
for a
mobile
computer
lab and
WiFi
access
points
at its
Piquette
Square
location
for
veterans.
The
mobile
lab will
provide
more
flexibility
to train
local
residents,
and the
new WiFi
access
points
will
help
boost
the
facility’s
Internet
signal
so even
more
people
can get
online.
Later in
the day,
the
Company
also
surprised
100
youth
with
free
laptop
computers
at City
Covenant
Church
in
Detroit.
“Comcast
has been
a
tremendous
partner
to the
city,
and we
applaud
their
work to
make the
internet
more
affordable
and
accessible
throughout
Detroit,”
said
Mayor
Duggan.
“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,”
said
David L.
Cohen,
Senior
Executive
Vice
President
and
Chief
Diversity
Officer
of
Comcast
NBCUniversal.
“The
Internet
is
arguably
the most
important
technological
innovation
in
history,
and it
is
unacceptable
that we
live in
a
country
where
millions
of
families
and
individuals
are
missing
out on
this
life-changing
resource.
Whether
the
Internet
is used
for
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 be
connected
in our
modern,
digital
age.”
At
events
across
Detroit,
Cohen
shared
how the
company
is
significantly
expanding
eligibility
for
Internet
Essentials,
which is
the
nation’s
largest,
most
comprehensive
and most
successful
broadband
adoption
program,
to
include
all
qualified
low-income
households
in its
service
area.
The
expansion
is the
most
significant
change
in the
program’s
history,
and the
company
estimates
a total
of
nearly
seven
million
households
now have
access
to
low-cost
Internet
service,
which
literally
doubles
the
total
number
of
previously
eligible
households.
U.S.
Olympic
Gold
Medalists
Jocelyne
Lamoureux-Davidson
and
Monique
Lamoureux-Morando,
ambassadors
for the
company’s
corporate
values
initiatives,
accompanied
Cohen
during
his
Detroit
visit to
raise
awareness
of the
Internet
Essentials
program.
Both
were
instrumental
in Team
USA’s
defeat
of
Canada
for the
gold in
the
Olympic
Winter
Games in
PyeongChang,
and are
passionate
advocates
for
gender
equity.
Since
August
2011,
Internet
Essentials
has
connected
more
than
eight
million
low-income
individuals,
from two
million
households,
to the
Internet
at home,
most for
the very
first
time.
This
includes
nearly
440,000
individuals
in
Michigan,
which
ranks
seventh
in terms
of
overall
participation
of the
program.
The
announcement
follows
11 prior
eligibility
expansions,
including
last
year’s
extension
of the
program
to
low-income
veterans.
To be
eligible
to apply
for the
program,
low-income
applicants
simply
need to
show
they are
participating
in one
of more
than a
dozen
different
federal
assistance
programs.
A full
list can
be found
at
www.internetessentials.com.
“If we
are
going to
close
the
Internet
gap, we
need to
tackle
the
barriers
of
access,
adoption,
and
affordability
to fully
enable
the
opportunities
that the
internet
makes
possible,”
said Lt.
Gov.
Gilchrist.
“Comcast’s
continual
expansion
of its
Internet
Essentials
program
shows
its
commitment
to
making
Internet
access a
reality
for more
people
in
Michigan.”
Internet
Essentials
has an
integrated,
wrap-around
design
that
addresses
each of
the
three
major
barriers
to
broadband
adoption
that
research
has
identified.
These
include:
a lack
of
digital
literacy
skills,
lack of
awareness
of the
relevance
of the
Internet
to
every-day
life
needs,
and fear
of the
Internet;
the lack
of a
computer;
and cost
of
Internet
service.
As a
result,
the
program
includes:
multiple
options
to
access
free
digital
literacy
training
in
print,
online,
and in
person;
the
option
to
purchase
an
Internet-ready
computer
for less
than
$150;
and
low-cost,
high-speed
Internet
service
for
$9.95 a
month
plus
tax. The
program
is
structured
as a
partnership
between
Comcast
and tens
of
thousands
of
school
districts,
libraries,
elected
officials,
and
nonprofit
community
partners.
For more
information,
or to
apply
for the
program
in seven
different
languages,
please
visit
www.internetessentials.com
or call
1-855-846-8376.
Spanish-only
speakers
can also
call
1-855-765-6995.
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