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Comcast Launches Program For Low-Income Families
wasimkadak writes "Comcast rolled out its Internet Essentials program nationwide today, offering low-income families in its service territory $10/month Internet connections and access to $150 computers. Any family with at least one child who qualifies for the free lunch program at public schools can subscribe to a low-speed (1.5Mbps) Comcast Internet connection for $9.95 a month. Comcast guarantees that it won't raise the price and offers the plan without equipment rental or activation fees. Subscribers also cannot have 'an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment,' and they can't have had Comcast Internet in the last 90 days."
Because unemployed or low-income adults without kids wouldn't have any use for the internet to look for a job or something, right?
The last paragraph of the linked article mentions that they had no choice but to do this:
Though Comcast no doubt loves children and cares deeply about the digital divide, its Internet Essentials program was also a part of the conditions under which it was allowed to buy NBC earlier this year. The company pledged to reach 2.5 million low income households with high speed Internet for less than $10 a month, and to sell some sort of computer for $150 or less.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
A revenue maximizing price-discrimination tactic and a PR coup that should keep those meddlesome regulators from breathing down their duopolist-at-best necks... Plus, the odds are good that at least some of your customers will feel more shafted by the fact that nasty, undeserving, poor people are getting low prices than by the fact that those prices only look low because all the other prices are so high.
Comcastic work, boys.
Ha! Government run services. In the United States. Good luck.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
As mentioned before, the launch isn't exactly new, and it was a provision of the NBC/Comcast merger. Nevertheless, it has gotten more attention than usual in the past day or two. Here's an alternative viewpoint, heavily biased against Comcast but still worth reading (at least in my opinion): http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Highlights-10-Broadband-in-DC-116216
Comcast guarantees that it won't raise the price
This is an unreasonable expectation given that the US monetary system has inflation. Eventually they would really have to raise prices or end up losing too much money.
Confucius say: "Man who associates with smarter men than himself is smarter than the men he associates with."
If you think it's expensive now, wait till it's free...
That's true today, but the entire public library system is under assault and I would not be surprised to see it dismantled within a decade. Slashdotters routinely make remarks like "who needs libraries when we have Google Books!" Libraries are trying hard to remain relevant. Free, public internet access is one of their real services to the community ... but now on Slashdot, and at town budget meetings, people can stand up and shout "who needs libraries when Comcast offers free^H^H^H^H cheap(er) internet access to (some) poor people (in select markets)!"
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
and they can't have had Comcast Internet in the last 90 days.
So they don't really give a crap about children or poverty, they're just trying to grab a few of their competitors customers.
Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
It's not charity to entice people to buy Comcast's services.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
While I'll never qualify for this, I still find myself having to criticize Comcast for doing everything possible to avoid helping as many people as they can. The very last line of the stipulation is what ruins it for me, when they state: "and they can't have had Comcast Internet in the last 90 days." If people qualify for it because they NEED it, stop doing everything possible to keep people from being able to qualify for it. Having had Comcast in the last 90 days doesn't somehow make someone who is on the list of those in poverty from being any less poor. Just give them the damn benefit like everyone else who falls into the "need" demographic. Yeah, I know no one really "needs" it, but if they're going through and pretending to be helpful, at least be helpful.
Sarbonn's blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/blog
And other people pay for what you use.
And theres a large scale for economies of scale.
And, oh, with a commercial, you pay for what other people use also!
Example: Lets say I use 80GB/month down and 60GB/month up.
My neighbors with the same plan use only 60GB/month down and 5GB/month up.
We pay the same, but I use more, so in fact, since all the paid money goes for the ISPs backbone connection, they are in part, paying for the infrastructure for some of my connection.
But, since it is a company doing it, I guess that's ok?
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
I've been on /. for a while and I have never posted that we don't need libraries.
In my opinion, we need MORE libraries. And I'll be in the library today.
It doesn't matter how cheap Comcast offers their service. A free, public library is always needed.
Haven't you heard? We all live in a vacuum now.
Of course I didn't, I'm in a vacuum!
So this is a new thing, it's optional, and it will probably bring the Internet to a reasonable number of disadvantaged children who currently don't have it.
That seems like a good thing.
Now I understand they are doing this as part of a previous deal, and that they could have done more, and that they still have horrible service or whatever. But this is still quite good news. I think this will really help some people - possibly really change some lives for the better - and it will help more people if the news gets around well.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
The program was actually launched a while ago, for some reason websites felt the need to revisit it.
Perhaps because the program was launched only in certain areas? Perhaps because this is the "Nationwide" launch for those outside the pilot areas?
Government-started is not the same as Government-provided. The Government has played no role in my internet access other than regulations and taxes.
We almost had something, with the various community wifi programs, in varying amounts of formality and size, happening around the country. People who couldn't afford the $40+ per month for broadband and didn't need all that speed were sharing access points, and it was mostly good (except which RIAA/MPAA came knocking). Now, in comcast land, the impetus will be crushed for those parents with no money, to get out and do something technical for their community. Oh well, I should look on the bright side, that means that they can share the connection they have without needing to press for cash (much). Too bad you have to have children to use it. It seems to me that such discount plans should be available regardless of whether one has a child. Single people need to hunt for jobs, apply for foodstamps, improve their computer skills, and find ways to fill the empty hopeless hours, just as much as parents do.