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Comcast expanding $9.95 internet program for low-income households

Comcast Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer David L. Cohen, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro present Karisha Bailey with a free computer as well as six months of free Internet service through Comcast's Internet Essentials. Comcast and HUD announced on Friday, July 15, 2016 that public housing and HUD-assisted residents living in the companys service area are now eligible to apply for Internet Essentials. (Jesus Aranguren / AP Images for Comcast)
From staff reports

Comcast is vastly expanding eligibility for low-cost internet service.

In a program announced with the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, Comcast announced it would offer its “Internet Essentials” service – which costs $9.95 a month – to anyone in public housing or those with Section 8 housing vouchers. Previously, the program was mostly available only to people with kids who receive free or reduced-price lunch at school.

Some 7,000 households in Spokane County could be eligible under the expansion, said Walter Neary, a regional Comcast spokesman. Nationally, the program will give access to high-speed internet service to up to 2 million HUD-assisted homes, according to a news release.

Comcast said three in four Americans now use high-speed internet at home, but low-income households are much less likely to have that access. Comcast first launched the program for families with children in 2011. Besides low-cost internet, Internet Essentials offers the chance to buy a computer for under $150. For information visit www.InternetEssentials.com or call 1-855-846-8376.