DIGITAL EQUITY NETWORK
As the world becomes more digital, it’s Comcast’s goal to ensure that everyone can participate and excel in today’s society. We have been committed to creating and supporting digital equity within the communities we serve for more than a decade. Over the past three years, Comcast has invested $12 million in cash and in-kind services to non-profit organizations in Washington. This investment is supporting digital skills training programs, building more Wi-Fi-connected Lift Zones, and providing grants to dozens of organizations that help bridge the digital divide for thousands of people.
The investment also is part of Comcast’s Digital Equity Network – an interconnected group of organizations in the Pacific Northwest that work collectively to increase access and adoption of the internet, help people get online, build digital skills, and open doors to economic mobility. Non-profit members of Comcast’s Digital Equity Network and serve as Digital Navigators in our community include Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, Easterseals Washington, El Centro de la Raza, Evergreen Goodwill, Goodwill Olympics & Rainier Region, Operation Military Family, Paralyzed Veterans of America Northwest, YWCA Seattle – King – Snohomish and more.
These trusted community organizations are training people to access the internet, use devices, and build digital skills. They also help income-constrained individuals and households sign up for low-cost, high-speed broadband through Internet Essentials.
Digital Navigators are critical to closing the digital divide and reducing socioeconomic inequalities by helping more people get online, according to the findings of a Boston Consulting Group study. Of people who’ve received help from Digital Navigators, 1 in 3 found a new job or increased their income, and 40% received support with basic needs like food, rent, and housing.
That is why Comcast invests directly in community-based initiatives and programs to support Digital Navigators and broadband adoption efforts in the Pacific Northwest as part of Project UP, the company’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity. Our Digital Equity Network with these partners helps launch and scale up their efforts to help expand access to digital skills programs and get people in the Pacific Northwest connected to the internet.
INTERNET ESSENTIALS
Connecting people to the internet and the online resources it provides are critical priorities for Comcast. The gap between people who benefit from using online resources and those who are not is called the digital divide, and it exists in underserved communities throughout Washington state. For over a decade, we’ve worked hard to address this challenge and have connected more than 216,000 households in Washington to high-speed Internet at home, many for the first time, through our Internet Essentials program.
Internet Essentials addresses the barriers to internet adoption through free digital literacy training resources, the option to purchase a discounted computer, and low-cost, high-speed Internet for under ten dollars a month, plus tax. Through this program, we’ve been able to connect students, families, and communities needing affordable internet resources. But more needs to be done.
LIFT ZONES
We know that thousands of Washingtonians also depend on community centers and non-profits for access to the Internet, and our Lift Zone initiative aims to address that need. Through our Lift Zone initiative, we have equipped nearly 100 Lift Zones with free internet service throughout the state.
Lift Zones provide thousands of Washington residents with locations to access online education, healthcare, and employment resources. Some of Lift Zones have also receive state-of-the-art technology makeovers from Comcast, including new laptops and technology that will help our community partners offer job skills training, education, computer classes, internships, and more. Lift Zones in Washington may be found at: https://www.internetessentials.com/learningSearchPage.
WASHINGTON LIFT ZONE LOCATIONS
“For nearly a decade, Internet Essentials has helped to change the lives of millions of people by providing low-income families with Internet access at home.”
Dave Watson
THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
Comcast seeks to develop deep community partnerships that help promote goodwill and create a lasting impact on our state. We serve and partner with groups including, but limited to, Women, LGBTQ, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous/Urban India, Black Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Veterans and Military Families, Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and low-income/vulnerable families.