Comcast program aims to reduce 'digital divide'.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: TELECOM

THE INTERNET IS PERVASIVE IN EVERYDAY life, sure, but not for everyone. Statistic in point: While 92 percent of homes in the U.S. have access to broadband. 37 percent remain offline.

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This "Digital Divide" between the haves and have-nots aligns with income: 42 percent of households in Denver with less than $30,000 in income have broadband, versus 85 percent of households with incomes above $75,000. The disparity catalyzes a vicious cycle in today's increasingly Web centric economy, said Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen.

"There's a cruel irony at play here, " he noted: Disadvantaged students are most likely to lack broadband access at home, putting them at more of a disadvantage. "Instead of making the world smaller, we're exacerbating differences."

Available in Colorado as of Sept. 21. the offer allows students on the National School Lunch Program to receive broadband for $9.95 a month, a significant discount from the $48.95 retail price. An optional netbook-style PC from program partners Acer and Dell is $149.95. also subsidized by Comcast. The program will eventually be available to 4,000 school districts in 39 states where Comcast operates a total of 2.5 million households, 48,000 in Denver alone

Comcast partners with school districts for a reason: The next generation of jobs will require digital literacy, and as Comcast is the largest data provider in the country, Cohen sees it as something of a civic duly. noting a full 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies now only accept applications online. "We're sealing off jobs and opportunities just because of the Internet." At Awn said.

At a press conference at Denver's South High School for the launch of the program, dubbed Internet Essentials, Gov. John Hickenlooper echoed Cohen. noting, "If...