Broadband is not only critical for education, but for all aspects of life these days; from finding a job to filing taxes. \u00a0The FCC push to create affordable broadband for families with children in school lunch programs is another step towards increasing broadband penetration from its near 70% rate today.<\/p>\n
Led by the non-profit One Economy<\/a> and backed by cable operators, such as Charter, Comcast, Time-Warner, the Connect-to-Compete program will offer $9.95 per month, 1 Mbps broadband to what NTCA estimates are 5.5 \u00a0million homes consisting of 10 million children who don’t have broadband and are part of the National School Lunch Program\u00a0<\/em>(NSLP). \u00a0 NTCA estimates<\/a> that, “Broadband adoption in eligible\u00a0C2C<\/em>\u00a0households is roughly half that of other households with K-12 students.” \u00a0 \u00a0The launch of this program is set for the beginning of the 2012 school year.<\/p>\n Notably absent from the operators providing this package are One Economy partners, AT&T and Verizon. \u00a0Microsoft, with $250 computers, and Best Buy’s Geek Squad, with digital literacy training classes, are among other entities who are supporting the effort within the home.<\/p>\n In this video interview, Kelly Dunne of One Economy talks about their efforts to help bring and create demand for broadband among the under-served. \u00a0Click here for the video interview:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.viodi.tv\/2011\/05\/31\/one-economy\/<\/a><\/p>\n References:<\/strong><\/p>\n NCTA Facts –\u00a0http:\/\/www.ncta.com\/PublicationType\/MiscellaneousPublication\/FAQ-for-C2C-Program.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n Connect 2 Compete –\u00a0http:\/\/connect2compete.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n