Comcast announced it will invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to help close the digital divide. The program, called Internet Essentials, currently offers eligible families 50 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up for $9.95/month. Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said the mission is “to ensure that the next generation of students in America has the tools, resources, and abilities they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.”
I think this is great. 50/5 access to the internet is enough bandwidth to have a bunch of online meetings and classes going on at the same time. For reference, a 1:1 Zoom meeting needs 150 kbps to 450 kbps of bandwidth to run smoothly, and it will burn between 540 MB and 1.62 GB per hour of data against your data cap. Group Zooms need between 225 kbps and 670 kbps of dedicated bandwidth and can burn anywhere from 810 MB to 2.4 GB of data per hour.
As you can calculate for yourself, 50/5 is going to be a big help. Kudos to Dave Watson and his team at Comcast Cable. This commitment to the future could not come at a better time.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.