Comcast defends Internet Essentials program

Responding to complaints that it isn't making much of an effort to promote the $9.95 monthly Internet access service that it has created for low-income homes, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) said it has mailed more than 11 million brochures that tout its Internet Essential program.

Activist group Action United planned to hold a rally in front of Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia on Wednesday, but cancelled the rally after Comcast agreed to schedule a meeting with its representatives on Jan. 10. The group had complained that Comcast was making it too difficult for families to qualify for its Internet Essentials program, which is only available to families that have at least one child in the federal school lunch program.

While the FCC has praised Comcast's efforts, Action United complained that it is difficult for many families to qualify. As DSLReports notes, in addition to qualifying for the school lunch program, a family cannot be a current subscriber to any other Comcast service within the past 90 days, including basic cable.

Comcast launched Internet Essentials in September, allowing low-income consumers within its footprint to get a high-speed Internet connection of up to 1.5 Mbps. Several other broadband providers have developed similar discounted high-speed Internet access services for low-income homes, including CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC).

For more:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer has this story
- DSLReports has this story

Related articles:
Cablevision to offer faster Internet speeds to low income homes than other cable MSOs
Low-cost broadband: How do MSOs compare?
CenturyLink duplicate's Comcast's $9.95 monthly high-speed Internet offer
Regulators praise Comcast's $9.95 monthly high-speed offering