Cox Communications is extending its Connect2Compete low-cost broadband service to any household in its 18-state footprint receiving assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Connect2Compete service offers 10 Mbps download speeds for $9.95 a month. Cox says more than 160,000 customers have been signed up for the service since 2012.
The move comes three weeks after Comcast announced that it's partnering with HUD to expand its subsidized Internet Essentials service to public housing residents in Miami-Dade County, and the cities of Seattle, Philadelphia and Nashville, Tenn.
Both Cox's and Comcast's announcements were made as the FCC is prioritizing the provision of broadband to the poor.
Earlier this month, the FCC said that a final proposal for a broadband Internet service subsidy for low-income families will be making the rounds at the commission. The plan to offer a $9.25 per month broadband subsidy is designed to shrink the connectivity gap in the United States. As FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said, only 48 percent of U.S. households making less than $25,000 a year can afford high-speed Internet access.
Cox President Pat Esser joined HUD Secretary Julián Castro in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Phoenix Landing Apartments complex Thursday to announce the new Connect2Compete expansion.
"Technology and the Internet play an increasingly critical role in the education of our youth. Yet, students cannot take the Internet home in their backpacks," Esser said in a statement. "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."
For more:
- read this Cox press release
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