Comcast is making high-speed internet accessible to senior citizens and low-income residents across Hartford.
Demeta Tinsley, of Hartford, now has the power to use a computer to see how her son is doing for the first time in her life.
“I want to see how he’s doing, you know?” Tinsley said. “I want to visualize him, I want to look at his face and see how everything is going.”
Comcast says only half of senior citizens have broadbrand internet at home. Today, the digital divide in Hartford just got a little smaller.
Comcast’s program Internet Essentials has expanded its high-speed internet service to seniors and low-income residents at the Betty Knox apartments in Hartford and the program offers high-speed internet for $9.99 a month with free home WiFi, free tutorials on how it works and subsidized laptops.
“The Internet is the ultimate tool to enable seniors to stay connected -- stay connected to their community, stay connected to their doctors, stay connected to their families,” Comcast senior executive vice president David Cohen said.
What’s more, Comcast donated 30 laptops to the residents of Betty Knox and installed a WiFi hotspot system throughout the apartment building.
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Tinsley said the change is life changing.
“I don’t have a computer, all I have is my phone and I’m just learning how to use that, so the computer and the classes would be an upgrade,” she said.
Fulfilling the promise of the Internet immediately was at the forefront for Comcast.
“Right when they’re excited, right when they’re interested, make sure that you can fulfill the commitment that we’re making,” said Cohen.
Betty Knox resident Desmond Green looks forward to getting his hands on the technology he’s never owned before, and is thankful it’s available for him now.
“[It’s] very, very important, because it’s not a projection of later on, it’s a reality of now,” he said.
Comcast is the parent company of NBC Connecticut and NBC Universal.
