As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Internet Essentials program, Comcast will invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to further close the digital divide and give more low-income Americans the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.
Working together with our network of nonprofit partners across the state, we’ve connected 480,000 low-income Coloradans to broadband Internet at home over the past 10 years.
Comcast’s $1 billion commitment will include investments in several critical areas, including:
- Additional support for the Lift Zone initiative, which establishes WiFi-connected safe spaces in more than 50 locations in Colorado for students and adults by the end of 2021
- Funding for new laptop and computers
- Financial grants for nonprofit community organizations to create opportunities for low-income Coloradans, particularly in media, technology, and entrepreneurship
- Continued investment in the company’s landmark Internet Essentials program
These new commitments will impact hundreds of thousands in Colorado.
Some of our most economically challenged communities are also where we find low internet access, and that’s where we need to close the digital divide,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, “To help serve our students during the pandemic, the city in partnership with Comcast and other youth serving organizations worked together to provide Denver residents with critical internet access where they don’t have it today.”
For more than a decade, Mile High United Way and Comcast have been partners in this initiative,” said Christine Benero, President and CEO of Mile High United Way. “We continue to partner with Comcast to bring internet to more communities through equipping neighborhood-based Lift Zones at community centers across the state with free WiFi to support distance learning.”
Our partnership with Comcast is a very complementary partnership,” said Maurice Henson, director of operations at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pikes Peak Region. “Our goal at the club is to give kids opportunities that they might not otherwise have, and Comcast with their Internet Essentials program is doing that same thing.”
Our commitments are projected to impact as many as 50 million Americans nationwide over the next 10 years. In 2021 alone, Comcast estimates students across America will complete more than 25 million hours of remote learning lessons to further address the “homework gap” at the hundreds of Lift Zone locations nationally and more than 30 Colorado Lift Zones that have already opened or will open soon.
Ten years is a remarkable milestone, signifying an extraordinary amount of work and collaboration with our incredible community partners across Colorado,” said Amy Lynch, Sr. Vice President, Comcast Mountain West Region. “Together, we have connected hundreds of thousands of people to the power of the Internet at home, and to the endless opportunity, education, growth, and discovery it provides. Our work is not done, and we are committed to ensuring the next generation of students in Colorado has the tools, resources, and abilities they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.”
For more information, click here to read and download our Internet Essentials 10-year progress report.
