In an attempt to narrow the “digital divide” in the country, Google announced that it will provide free internet to residents in select public and people living in affordable housing properties across the US.
According to the web giant, this programme will be launched in all states where Google’s Fiber is available, costing $0 per month, and without an installation fee. Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, Austin, and Provo, Utah. However, the company said that its service will be soon expanded to Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Antonio and San Jose.
Part of a white house programme
Google giving out free internet is an initiative part of “ConnectHome”, a programme that comes from the White House and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which aims to help school-aged children and families, living in assisted housing, by delivering internet connectivity which is often an investment for all families in their households.
Erica Swanson, who works for Google Fiber, said in a recent blog post: ”We’re proud to partner with HUD to connect families in four of the communities they’ve selected — Atlanta, Durham, Nashville and Kansas City. We’ll also extend the program to every other current and future Google Fiber market.”
Google: the only company to offer it for free
The search engine technology giant will not be the only company offering internet services to certain communities. However it will be the only one to provide it completely for free.
Company CenturyLink will be hooking up households with internet in Seattle for the price of $9.95 per month during the first year and $11.95 after that. In other areas, Cox Communications will be doing the same.
“Providing an Internet connection is just one piece of the puzzle,” wrote Swanson in her blog post, “People can only take advantage of the many benefits of the Web when they understand why it matters and know how to use it.”
However, for some residents in Austin, Texas, Google delivering free internet is no big news. The company in fact installed its complimentary Fiber last November in order to “help bring free Internet and digital literacy classes to public housing residents in the city”.
The digital divide situation is getting better
Recently, the White House Council of Economic Advisers published a report which found that progress has been made to make the digital gap narrower. However it also underlines that there is still a lot to work on. Therefore, Google offering free internet will be a big step forward in closing this divide even more.
