Comcast offers Internet to needy for $9.95 a month

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Updated: November 30, 2011 12:32AM

Thousands of children throughout Aurora and the Fox Valley can access the Internet for less than $10 a month, thanks to Comcast’s new Internet Essentials program.

Internet Essentials aims to “close the digital divide” for low-income families with students in schools in Comcast’s Chicago region, the Internet/cable/phone service provider announced.

That includes all families whose children receive free lunches in the National School Lunch program in Aurora, as well as those in communities in surrounding school districts. In East Aurora alone, more than 68 percent of students can be expected to qualify.

“The digital divide is extremely important to close,” said East Aurora School District spokesman Clayton Muhammad. “We are becoming increasingly aware of how important it is for children to have access to technology and the Internet.”

From filling out FAFSA forms, to searching for scholarships, to accessing blackboard applications, the opportunities that come along with Internet access are limitless. Parents can also use the opportunity to take online classes, search for jobs and get involved with their children’s education, Muhammad said.

“The Internet is a great equalizer and a life-changing technology,” said LeAnn Talbot, senior vice president of Comcast’s greater Chicago region.

“Internet Essentials helps level the playing field for low-income families by connecting students online with their teachers and their school’s educational resources and by enabling parents to receive digital literacy training so they can apply for jobs online or use the Internet to learn more about health care and government services, and a host of other activities,” Talbot said.

Internet Essentials will offer participants residential Internet service for $9.95 a month, with no price increases, activation fees or equipment rental fees, according to the company. It also will give those families a voucher to purchase a low-cost computer for about $150, not including taxes.

The program also will give families access to free digital literacy training in print, online or in person, according to Comcast.

“This will have a dramatic effect on the lives of our students and their families,” Muhammad said. “Our children will have greater access to the world at large and be able to see what’s going on.”

Families can sign up for Internet Essentials through the end of the 2013-14 school year, according to Comcast. They will remain eligible for the program until their children graduate high school, as long as they household still meets the qualifications, according to the company.

To qualify, families must live where Comcast offers Internet service, which includes Aurora and many Fox Valley communities, and have at least one child who receives a free school lunch under the National School Lunch Program. A family of three, for example, would have to make less than $25,000 to qualify for free lunches, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Participating families also must not have not subscribed for Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days or have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment.

More information about Internet Essentials is available at www.internetessentials.com for English or at 855-846-8376. More information in Spanish is at www.internetbasico.com or at 855-765-6995.

Staff writer Erika Wurst contributed to this story.