Cox Communications has announced a partnership with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to offer low-cost internet to any HUD-assisted household with school-age children.

Serving 18 states, Cox hopes to help nearly 250,000 students living in HUD-assisted houses who do not have equitable access to Internet.

The partnership supports HUD’S ConnectHome initiative, a pilot initiative that aims to offer low-income residents free or discounted Internet services, training in digital literacy skills, and continuing support to make broadband Internet adoption sustainable. 

The initiative was announced in 2015 to fix the persistent problem that despite most low-income families owning computers, few have proper access to Internet services; less than half of all families living in HUD housing reported having an Internet subscription that year.

As Cox Communications points out, access to Internet is increasingly important for America’s students to succeed in the classroom, not only because many assignments require access, but because otherwise students do not learn critical digital literacy skills.

"We are committed to staying at the forefront of the Internet adoption movement. Through strong partnerships in the communities we serve, we will build more bridges to enable all families to cross the digital divide, regardless of where they live,” Cox President Pat Esser said when announcing the initiative.

The partnership supplements the company’s already existing initiative, Connect2Compete, which offers any family with at least one child eligible for free school lunch discounted Internet services.

The 18 states that Cox Communications operates in are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Islandand Virginia.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/15/2016