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HUD, Comcast Partner to Expand Low-Income Internet Program

Comcast, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will begin to offer its Internet Essentials package, a low cost broadband Internet service, to over 2 million American households.

(TNS) -- About 2 million U.S. households that receive federal housing assistance are now eligible for Comcast’s low-cost Internet Essentials program, the broadband company and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.

This means public-housing and HUD-assisted residents within Comcast services areas are able to apply for Internet Essentials, which is aimed at lower-income households that cannot afford mainstream broadband plans. The service costs $9.95 a month.

“Today’s announcement has the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids across the nation by giving them the tools to reach their full potential,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro, noting that this could affect up to 1.5 million low-income children.

“We’re grateful to Comcast,” Castro said.

This is a major expansion of the program for Philadelphia-based Comcast, which is the Twin Cities’ dominant broadband provider.

The announcement marks the first time it is making Internet Essentials available to homes without kids who are eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program.

About 50,000 HUD-eligible households are located in Comcast’s Twin Cities service area, which includes the western Wisconsin communities of Hudson, North Hudson, Troy Township, River Falls and Prescott.

Ramsey, Dakota and Washington counties have 14,612, 3,466 and 1,371 such households apiece, and are ranked 30th, 124th and 241st in the nation. In terms of cities, Minneapolis ranks 14th and St. Paul 19th.

©2016 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.