Baton Rouge and New Orleans are among 27 pilot cities selected for a new program to help close the digital divide by bringing faster Internet to low-income households, The Associated Press reports.
President Barack Obama, during a visit today to Durant, Oklahoma, announced a pilot program that brings together communities, the private sector and the federal government to make high-speed Internet available to more families. ConnectHome, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will begin in 27 cities and one tribal nation, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Cox Communications says it will support the effort in Baton Rouge and New Orleans by offering its Connect2Compete home Internet service offer for $9.95 a month to eligible K-12 families. The company was a founding partner of Connect2Compete, which provides affordable Internet service and devices to K-12 students and their families who qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Since launching the program in 2012, Cox says it has connected more than 100,000 low-income Americans to the Internet through the Connect2Compete.
The White House says Obama’s school-based Internet program is on track to make sure that 99% of K-12 students can use the web in their classrooms and libraries by 2017. The new program aims to help less-privileged students access the Internet and continue learning when they get home from school.
Aside from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the other cities that HUD selected for ConnectHome are: Albany, Georgia; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Camden, New Jersey; Cleveland; Denver; Durham, North Carolina; Fresno, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles; Macon, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; Meriden, Connecticut; Nashville, Tennessee; New York; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Rockford, Illinois; San Antonio; Seattle; Springfield, Massachusetts; Tampa, Florida; and the District of Columbia.
