Rep. Hank Johnson Calls on Comcast to Expand Internet Essentials to Increase Broadband Adoption in Minority Communities

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) today made the following statement during the hearing on a proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL). Rep. Johnson is the ranking member of the RRCAL Subcommittee, which exercises jurisdiction over antitrust laws and competition.

"The proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable occurs at a time when universal broadband adoption is a critical national imperative. But due to cost, relevancy and availability, far too many Americans do not have at-home access. This problem is particularly pronounced in minority communities, where African-American and Hispanic families lag between 10 and 20 percentage points behind white families in broadband adoption.

"As part of its commitment to the public following its merger with NBCU, Comcast launched the Internet Essentials program to offer low-income families affordable broadband and digital literacy training.

"Since the inception of this program in 2011, we have more than 21,000 families connected to the internet in my home-state of Georgia, with just over 17,000 families in Atlanta alone. Nationwide, nearly 1.2 million Americans have joined the program, 86 percent of whom now use the Internet daily.

"In a March press release, Comcast committed to continuing this program indefinitely and extending the program to the Time-Warner Cable markets.

"Though laudable, there is still much work to be done. I call on Comcast to continue this program over a fixed, long-term period, to keep striving toward universal adoption, and to expand the program in speed and coverage to help achieve our goal of universal adoption of affordable, high-speed Internet."

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