Cable giant Cox Communications and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday announced plans to extend discounted broadband Internet service to low-income families in 18 states, including Georgia.
Cox said it will extend its Connect2Compete program to any HUD-assisted family with children in its coverage area. The announcement is part of a federal effort known as ConnectHome to help extend low-cost, high-speed Internet access to low-income Americans.
A number of major broadband providers have signed on to the initiative, but the government said Cox is the first to extend its offering to its entire coverage area. The expansion could reach 250,000 students in low-income families in the U.S., according to a news release.
Cox Communications and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both units of Sandy Springs-based Cox Enterprises.
Under the federal ConnectHome program, service providers, non-profits and others provide high-speed Internet access, training, digital literacy help and other assistance in 28 pilot communities. The goal is to help bridge the gap in Internet access between wealthy and low-income families.
“Technology and the Internet play an increasingly critical role in the education of our youth,” Cox Communications President Pat Esser said in the release. “Yet, students cannot take the Internet home in their backpacks.”
Cox started a pilot in four cities, including its Macon market, last year.
