As South Florida students get ready to hit the books, low-income pupils can count on another boost from Comcast's Internet Essentials.
Entering its third year, the program has already connected more than 220,000 families nationwide with low-cost internet access at home. That includes 18,700 families in South Florida.
"Broadband is no longer a luxury," Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said at a news conference in Miami-Dade Tuesday to kick off the third year of the program.
Cohen said no child should have to catch a bus to the library just for internet access.
Comcast has now tripled its download speed since the launch - up to 5 Mbps downstream and up to 1 Mbps upstream. The program is also joining forces with South Florida's Chapman Partnership to provide digital connections for homeless men and women, and help them get back on their feet.
Comcast is the parent company of NBC Universal, which owns NBC 6 South Florida.
To find out if you or someone you know qualifies for Internet Essentials, go to www.internetessentials.com.
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