Today, viewers of the Seattle KING 5 TV show New Day Northwest heard a detailed explanation of Comcast Internet Essentials. Internet Essentials offers low-cost broadband and a low-cost computer to many families where children receive free- or reduced-price lunch in schools: High-Speed Internet for $9.95 a month, a netbook for $150, and digital literacy information.
We’re hoping some of those viewers are families who learned from the show how they might get connected to the Internet for the first time.
The guests were Seattle City Councilman Bruce Harrell and Comcast’s VP of Communications in Washington, Steve Kipp. Kipp said more than 100,000 customers have signed up nationwide, and the company is eager to help more get online.
Harrell spoke about the importance of bridging what’s called the digital divide: “What’s happening in our country, and our city and our county, is that some kids at an early age are going (one) way in terms of having all the great technical skills and Internet skills necessary to compete at school and in the job market; and unfortunately, another group of kids and young adults are going the other way. They don’t have the skills and services that will allow them to compete. And so you see this divide that’s sometimes hard to fill in, in terms of the gap.
“We’re trying to make sure that gap doesn’t exist, and that’s what we call the digital divide.”
You can watch the segment by clicking on the picture above or clicking here.
This is the second time New Day Northwest has done a segment about Internet Essentials; a segment last year featured members of the Tacoma Urban League who are working to close the digital divide through education.
If you work with an organization or group that can help get the word out about Internet Essentials to families, we could sure use your help. You can click here to sign up and get any amount of bilingual literature delivered for free to help get the word to families.
