California Leads the Nation by Connecting More Than 1.4 Million People to Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program as it Celebrates 10-Year Milestone Comcast Commits to Investing $1 Billion Over Next 10 Years to Reach 50 Million Low-Income Americans With Tools and Resources to Succeed in Digital World

Comcast today announced it has connected more than 10 million people to its Internet Essentials program, which is marking its 10-year anniversary. Internet Essentials offers internet access for low-income families and individuals for $9.95 per month, along with digital literacy training programs and access to low-cost computers.

California continues to lead the nation with more than 1.4 million individuals benefiting from the Internet Essentials program since its inception. Fresno and Sacramento, respectively, have the most Internet Essentials subscribers in the state. Rounding out the top 10 in California (in order) are Stockton, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Salinas, Santa Maria, Modesto and Madera.

“While the pandemic has shone a bright light on the need for greater digital equity, this is an issue Comcast has been aware of and working on diligently with our partners for a decade,” said John Gauder, Senior Vice President, California Region, Comcast. “We could not be prouder that California continues to lead the nation in connecting low income families to the program. We look forward to continuing to do even more through our Internet Essentials program, our Internet Essentials Partnership Program, Lift Zones and more – for the next 10 years and beyond.”

“We applaud Comcast’s decade-long commitment to finding solutions for comprehensive, digital equity and Internet adoption programs to support low-income communities,” said Diane Carbray, President/CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County. “We are thrilled that Fresno is the No. 1 city for Internet Essentials in California and are so proud to be a key partner in creating that amazing outcome. We all know that there is much more hard work ahead of us, but this milestone is tremendous and we celebrate Comcast and our Fresno families for achieving this important outcome.”

“PIQE’s (Parent Institute for Quality Education) mission is to engage, empower and transform families by providing the knowledge and the skills to partner with schools and communities to ensure their children achieve their full potential. Comcast and its Internet Essentials program dovetails so perfectly with PIQE’s mission and together we have accomplished some incredible results on our collective path toward creating greater digital equity in our communities,” PIQE President and CEO, Gloria Corral said. “We applaud Comcast on its 10-year milestone with Internet Essentials and we are delighted to continue our ongoing partnership over the coming years as we work to reach even higher heights.”

Comcast Corporation also announced today that it would invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to help further close the digital divide and give even more low-income Americans the tools and resources they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

Comcast’s $1 billion commitment will include investments in a number of critical areas, including: additional support for its ongoing Lift Zone initiative, which establishes WiFi-connected safe spaces in 1,000+ community centers nationwide for students and adults by the end of 2021; new laptop and computer donations; grants for nonprofit community organizations to create opportunities for low-income Americans, particularly in media, technology, and entrepreneurship; and continued investment in the company’s landmark Internet Essentials program. It is estimated that these new commitments will impact as many as 50 million Americans over the next 10 years. In 2021 alone, Comcast estimates students will be able to complete more than 25 million hours of remote learning lessons to further address the “homework gap” at the hundreds of Lift Zone locations that have already opened or will open soon.

A 10-Year Progress Report on Internet Essentials, released in conjunction with today’s anniversary, also highlights other key metrics about the program, including:

• Increased Internet Essentials speeds six times, from 1.5 Mbps in 2011 to 50 Mbps today, without ever increasing the price of the program, which has remained $9.95/month.
• Launched its Lift Zones program, which aims to connect more than 1,000 community centers with free WiFi by the end of 2021.
• Developed an Internet Essentials Partnership Program that has signed up hundreds of schools, school districts, and other organizations that have come together to help connect tens of thousands of students to the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Offered 60 days of free Internet service to any new Internet Essentials customer who needed to get online during the coronavirus outbreak.
• Expanded the number of languages our Internet Essentials call center agents can speak to more than 240, plus American Sign Language, to help ensure we break down language barriers that can prevent people from applying or getting online.
• Built up an online learning center that includes more than 200 digital literacy training videos, guides, and reports that are free to anyone to use, including non-customers.
• Developed an employee network of 3,000 Internet Essentials Ambassadors who volunteer their time to help spread the word about the program in their communities.

This new commitment comes on the heels of a series of initiatives announced during the COVID-19 pandemic that reinforced the company’s commitment to addressing the digital divide and the homework gap by upping speeds to 50 Mbps without changing the program’s $9.95/month price. The company also continues to offer 60 days of free Internet service to new Internet Essentials customers who sign up before June 30, 2021.