Thirteen cable operators will follow Comcast’s lead in selling broadband service...
Thirteen cable operators will follow Comcast’s lead in selling broadband service for about $10 monthly to low-income households, the cable industry and FCC confirmed Wednesday. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and House Commerce Committee Democratic members Doris Matsui…
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of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts praised the plans. The agency described it as a $4 billion “unprecedented, in-kind offer” by ISPs and others for 15 million to 25 million Americans to get Internet service. That’s the sum of commitments made by Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and others, including some like Best Buy that have been previously publicized, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. NCTA said companies ranging from Time Warner Cable to BendBroadband, with less than 50,000 subscribers in central Oregon, are participating in the Connect to Compete Program (CD Oct 13 p11). The program that NCTA said its members are participating in resembles a service Comcast agreed to offer as part of getting FCC approval to buy NBCUniversal. “Comcast has also been an early and important leader with their Internet Essentials Initiative,” Genachowski said at a public school in Washington. He said (http://xrl.us/bmh9ph) Commissioner Mignon Clyburn “is going to be playing an active role in mobilizing the ground game.” Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, GCI, Mediacom, Midcontinent Communications and Suddenlink are among the cable participants. Cable operators will start adding participants in the spring, with a nationwide rollout next fall, the NCTA said: “An eligible family may enroll anytime during that three-year window for a period of up to two years.” There are 5.5 million households with kids eligible for free school lunches -- the population that can take advantage of the cable offer -- who don’t buy broadband, the NCTA said (http://xrl.us/bmh9ot). AT&T, not part of Wednesday’s event, has “always and will continue to be on the look-out for opportunities to promote the benefits of broadband and to bring more Americans into the broadband era,” Senior Vice President Bob Quinn said (http://xrl.us/bmh9nm). Cable operators participating in the program reach 86 percent of U.S. households, Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said (http://xrl.us/bmh9o3): “Eligible households will have the option to purchase a refurbished computer for $150."