Cox Communications Announces Major Effort to Close the Digital Divide With HUD ConnectHome Initiative

San Diego, CA –– Cox Communications today announced a major investment in its efforts to narrow the digital divide through its support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative. Cox is extending its Connect2Compete low-cost Internet offering to any HUD-assisted household with school-age children within Cox’s 18-state service area. It is the first Internet service provider within the ConnectHome umbrella to extend such an offering throughout its entire nationwide footprint. This investment from Cox Communications has the potential to impact nearly 250,000 students across the nation currently residing in a HUD-assisted home, including tens- of thousands in the San Diego County.

Cox Communications President Pat Esser joined HUD Secretary Julián Castro in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Phoenix Landing Apartments complex to make this important announcement.

In making today’s announcement, Cox President Pat Esser noted the importance of community leaders who recognize the benefit to students of having Internet access in order to compete in the classroom and in their careers.

“Technology and the Internet play an increasingly critical role in the education of our youth. Yet, students cannot take the Internet home in their backpacks,” said Esser. “We are committed to staying at the forefront of the Internet adoption movement. Through strong partnerships in the communities we serve, we will build more bridges to enable all families to cross the digital divide, regardless of where they live.”

“ConnectHome is expanding opportunity for our nation’s next generation of inventors, CEOs and artists,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “Today’s announcement will transform the lives of kids across the country, opening the door for students to live up to their full potential and not be limited in what they can achieve.”

Building on the Obama Administration’s goal to expand high speed broadband to all Americans, in July 2015, President Obama and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro announced, ConnectHome, an initiative to extend affordable broadband access to families living in HUD-assisted housing. Through ConnectHome, Internet service providers, non-profits and the private sector are offering broadband access, technical training, digital literacy programs, and devices for residents in assisted housing units in 28 pilot communities across the nation. While nearly two-thirds of America’s lowest-income households own a computer, less than half have a home Internet subscription. HUD’s ConnectHome initiative strives to ensure that students can access the same level of high-speed Internet at home that they possess in their classrooms.

In today’s 21st century global economy, 90 percent of college applications are submitted online. Students without access to high-speed Internet access are left without the tools and digital literacy skills critical for success.

Since last July, Cox Communications has been collaborating with HUD, local governments, community leaders, and nonprofit organizations to provide affordable broadband access to families receiving HUD housing assistance in four communities: Meriden, Connecticut; Macon, Georgia; Baton Rouge, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana. Click here for more information about the ConnectHome Initiative.

Cox has led the industry by voluntarily offering affordable Internet service to low-income families with school-aged children. Along with the FCC, Cox is a founding partner of the Connect2Compete program, which is modeled after an Internet adoption initiative the company established in the late 1990s. Since 2012, more than 160,000 people have been connected to the Internet through Cox’s Connect2Compete efforts. Notably, more than half of low-income families who benefit from discounted Internet access report having seen improved grades for children in the home.

“Cox’s Connect2Compete low-cost access to the Internet will be welcome news for the more than 5,400 low-income households with children who receive Federal rental housing assistance from the San Diego Housing Commission, giving them the access to knowledge that builds on what they learn in school,” said Richard C. Gentry, President and CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission.

“Every child deserves the tools that will help them prepare for their future. We are excited for the opportunity that this new initiative will provide to children, including many of the children and families we serve,” said Rudolph A. Johnson, III, President and CEO of the Neighborhood House Association.

Committed to serving the students and their families across the community, the company also has funded more than 75 Cox Technology Centers across its 18-state footprint. Its commercial services division, Cox Business, provides Internet services to more than 7,400 schools serving 4 million students.

Cox’s Connect2Compete service is $9.95 per month for eligible families, and includes downloads speeds up to 10 Mbps, free in-home WiFi, free installation and free access to hundreds of thousands of WiFi hotspots strategically located in markets across the country through Cox WiFi and Cable WiFi.

To apply or learn more, visit www.connect2compete.org/Cox or call 855-222-3252.

Cox operates six clustered cable systems in 18 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Virginia.

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