Comcast said that as part of its ongoing commitment to help connect low-income families to the Internet, it will equip 20 community centers and parks and recreation facilities in Oakland with free WiFi for the next three years. As part of its efforts to promote the initiative, part of its Lift Zones program to help low income students complete school work on the internet, the company is enlisting the help of two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Simone Manuel.

Manuel spoke virtually to Oakland students at a special event to kick off the initiative on Feb. 25.

“The current health crisis has had a disproportionate effect on many students from communities of color, and I want these kids to know that there are people rooting for them,” Manuel said in a press release. “The lack of Internet access in low-income homes adds unique challenges to families that are trying to manage distance learning. I’m pleased to partner with Comcast to bring awareness to this important issue and help close the digital divide.”

In addition to providing free WiFi at the various Lift Zone locations, Comcast contributed $100,000 to the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation and gave 1,000 students their own free laptop computer and free Internet at home for 12 months (to eligible families) through its Internet Essentials program.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation to install free WiFi and provide digital skills training to ensure students can stay connected with their schools during this challenging time,” said Comcast California regional senior vice president John Gauder, in the press release.  “The COVID-19 crisis continues to put many low-income students at risk of being left behind, accelerating the need for comprehensive digital equity and Internet adoption programs to support them. Whether connecting to the Internet at home with our Internet Essentials program, or providing free WiFi at community centers, we’re helping to ensure students have multiple options to get online.”

Comcast created the Lift Zones program last September, a pledge to launch more than 1,000 WiFi zones in community centers across the country. The Lift Zones program is a complement to Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which has helped connect more than eight million low-income people to the Internet at home, including more than one million California residents.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on many inequities in our society including the digital divide. Parents who are essential workers or those who can’t work from home have been questioning how to handle distance learning for their children,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a press release. “That's why we are grateful that Comcast has partnered with the City of Oakland to provide these crucial technology resources and stepped in to fill an important need in the community.”

Comcast unveiled a new multi-year initiative Thursday to launch more than 1,000 WiFi-connected “Lift Zones” in community centers across the company, providing free internet connections and access to educational and digital skills content to help needy students navigate online learning.

The initiative will complement Comcast's existing Internet Essentials program, which has offered low-cost internet access to families in need since 2011, connecting more than 8 million people to the internet at home. Working with its network of nonprofit partners and city leaders, Comcast will provide WiFi in facilities they have identified to help students get online, participate in distance learning, and do their schoolwork.

“For nearly a decade, Internet Essentials has helped to change the lives of millions of people by providing low-income families with Internet access at home,” Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said in a press release. “These Lift Zones, which will be installed in community centers in local neighborhoods that our partners have identified and will run, and where students and families can get online and access the resources they need, especially while so many schools and workplaces have gone virtual.”

Comcast said it has already identified the first 200 Lift Zones, which are intended to help those students who, for a variety of reasons, may be unable to connect to distance learning at home, or who just want another place in which to study.

Several of the Lift Zones are already open and others will open this year in more than a dozen cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Trenton, Twin Cities, and Washington, D.C.

Examples include: 

Baltimore – Harvey Johnson Community Center at Union Baptist Church – Serves more than 50 students and community members in West Baltimore in a safe space for participating in online education, as well as in inter-generational learning classes, with access to computers and training through its cyber center. 

Chicago – BUILD is one of Chicago’s leading gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organizations, serving nearly 3,000 young people each year. Its mission is to engage at-risk youth in schools and on the streets to help them realize their potential and contribute to their communities. BUILD focuses on hard-to-serve youth in some of Chicago’s most challenging neighborhoods.

Philadelphia – Olney Recreation Center – A 13.6-acre site with outdoor spaces and recreation building with an auditorium, gymnasium, and multipurpose rooms offering free and low-cost programming for neighborhood children.

Trenton – Catholic Youth Organization of Mercer County – Provides childcare and youth programs to approximately 1,200 children ages 8-14 from Catholic schools and parishes during the academic year.

Twin Cities – The Sanneh Foundation Distanced Learning Hub at Conway Community Center in St. Paul, enables parents and guardians to continue to work while providing a safe space for their children during normal school hours. Sanneh hosts 140 students per day and is offering safe, socially distanced access to educational technology as well as tutoring support. 

The Lift Zones initiative comes on the heels of Comcast’s recent launch of its new “Internet Essentials Partnership Program,” which focuses on enabling cities, school districts, and community-based organizations to connect large numbers of low-income students to the Internet at home to support distance learning while many schools remain closed. To date, more than 70 schools have signed up for the Partner Program, potentially benefiting nearly 200,000 students.

Cable operator and telecom ISPs are offering school districts a discount on home broadband to help bridge the educational digital divide.

NCTA-The Internet & Television Association (as well as USTelecom) are teaming up with nonprofit EducationSuperHighway on the K-12 Bridge to Broadband, which will help public school districts and states identify the low-income students who need help to join the remote hybrid learning educational system prompted by the pandemic.

Cable ops who have committed to the program include Comcast, Cox, Charter, Mediacom and GCI.

“America’s broadband networks are continuing to play a critical role in helping the nation adapt to changes in daily life required by the COVID pandemic,” said NCTA president Michael Powell. “As the school year begins, these changes are front and center in many parts of the country, with family rooms temporarily replacing classrooms and more schools using online instruction to continue their educational mission. In rising to these challenges, the cable industry is continuing to provide robust and reliable service and is redoubling our efforts to work collaboratively with schools, communities and other partners to get families connected through innovative new service models that will foster and sustain the educational progress of our children.”

The basic approach of the K-12 Bridge to Broadband is that NCTA members will offer a "sponsored service" through which school systems can buy broadband for low-income students at a discount. ISPs will also work with school districts to identify the eligible students who don't have broadband.

ISPs will agree not to use any information shared with them by the school for target marketing to participating families or for other services unrelated to the sponsored service.

The new initiative got a shout-out from FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who urged school systems to use some of the billions in existing connectivity funding to help with the remote learning effort.

“I thank NCTA and the EducationSuperHighway for launching this initiative to make it easier for students in low-income families to connect to the internet,” said Pai. “With the start of the school year and the continued reliance upon remote learning in many parts of the country, it is essential that students have the connectivity they need to continue their education through this and similar initiatives. I therefore reiterate my call for states and school districts to take advantage of the $16 billion in CARES Act funding that can be used to connect our nation’s students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The FCC has been working with the U.S. Department of Education to raise awareness of this CARES Act funding for remote learning, and this money is already having a positive impact. For example, in the District of Columbia, the CARES Act is making it possible for the D.C. government to cover monthly Internet bills for tens of thousands of children in low-income families who attend local public and charter schools. Similar initiatives using CARES Act funds have been launched in other states, including Alabama and Connecticut, to ensure low-income students are able to engage in remote learning during the ongoing pandemic.”

Charter Communications said Monday that it has begun to accept applications for its 2020 Spectrum Digital Education grant program, part of a $6 million, four-year cash and in-kind commitment to educate consumers on the benefits of broadband and how to use it in their everyday lives.

Applications are available here and will be accepted until June 26, at 5 p.m. EST. Grants will be announced in August and awarded in September.

Charter said it opened the application portal two months earlier than planned to meet the needs of nonprofit organizations focused on providing broadband training and education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a broadband provider, Charter’s connectivity services provide a vital link within the communities we serve, more so than ever in this challenging time,” said Charter vice president of community impact Rahman Khan in a press release. “We have heard from many organizations struggling to keep up with the demand in their communities for broadband education, training and technology. We are proud to support these nonprofits through Spectrum Digital Education grants and to help meet their evolving needs by accelerating the application process.”

Charter launched the Spectrum Digital Education program in 2017. Prior awards have allowed local beneficiaries to set up technology labs, provide online education to senior centers, and distribute laptops, impacting 28,845 individuals across 17 states and Washington, D.C., through 2019. To be eligible for a Spectrum Digital Education grant, organizations must serve communities located within Charter’s 41-state service area and have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. More information on how to apply is available here.

In addition to Spectrum Digital Education, Charter’s Community Impact team has developed several programs to improve local communities. In 2015, it launched Spectrum Housing Assist, with the goal of improving 50,000 homes and to date has reached more than 41,000 homes. In 2019, the Spectrum Employee Community Grants program was created to support employees’ volunteer work at local social and human services nonprofits. Last year, the company donated to 140 organizations across 24 states for this program. In February, Charter announced the launch of the Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund which will invest $10 million in capital by the end of 2021, making loans up to $1 million to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in the company’s footprint. Most recently, Charter launched Spectrum Scholars, a two-year educational program for eligible rising juniors in financial need, which will award a total of $400,000 in scholarships.

The FCC was looking for money from Congress for remote education in the COVID-19 aid bill that passed last weekend, but didn't get it. An FCC official signaled on background Monday (March 30) that it is not giving up. 

Senate Democrats had also wanted at least $2 billion for e-rate in the aid bill.

The FCC official said to look for the commission to renew the funding pitch for the next round of COVID-19 aid that is almost surely coming. He also cited the efforts ISPs are taking on their own dime, including offering free service to low-income residents with school age children currently lacking home broadband.

The FCC has already taken some steps to try and help broadband providers boost their remote education efforts through the FCC's schools and libraries e-rate broadband subsidy. That includes allowing schools and libraries that are closed to still get the funding--so they can open up their WiFi networks to the public during the coronavirus pandemic without losing e-rate funding.  

The FCC has also temporarily waived rules that prohibited e-rate-eligible entities from accepting or seeking anything of value from a provider participating in the program. With those rules waived, carriers can donate free upgraded gear or WiFi hotspots.  

Telemundo has partnered with Excelencia in Education and the Smithsonian Latino Center to support its Apprender es Triunfar (Learning Is Succeeding) initiative aimed at Latino students.

The year-long campaign, promoted via two websites (telemundoteinspira.com/aprender-es-triunfar in Spanish and telemundoteinspira.com/learning-is-succeeding in English), is designed to get Latino youths and their parents more involved in STEAM education, which includes Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Mathematics.

Excelencia in Education will work with Telemundo to create co-branded content, such as a “Latinas in STEAM” white paper that will tie into Women’s History Month, in March, and a fact book that will include research and statistics on the current state of Latinos in education. The Smithsonian Latino Center will focus on reaching out to Latino youth and families via its “¡Descubra! Meet the Science Expert” series, which will showcase STEAM education and career paths. That program will extend through this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, scheduled for Sept. 15-Oct. 15,

“We are dedicated to providing Hispanics with the best information about education in the science, technology, engineering, arts and math fields as we work towards increasing Hispanic representation in those career fields,” Raquel Egusquiza, NBCUniversal’s vice president of community affairs, Hispanic enterprises and content, said.  

Excelencia in Education and the Smithsonian Latino Center join existing partners the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), ¡Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). So far the program has distributed backpacks to students in key Hispanic markets, hosted an education town hall meeting and released a documentary film, Underwater Dreams, in Los Angeles and New York. 

In another move to support the campaign, Telemundo will begin airing monthly news segments on Noticiero Telemundo  profiling prominent Latinos who have succeeded in a STEAM field. Additionally, the network will create public service announcements, aimed at parents and featuring news anchor Jose Diaz-Balart and reporter Vanessa Hauc, to promote awareness of career opportunities in the various STEAM fields.