PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city has made strides over the past year in getting high-speed Internet in more homes. But a new study also finds thousands of families in Philadelphia still aren't online — despite programs designed to hook them up at little or no cost.
As the pandemic turned school into a virtual affair, the numbers bear out the urgency to get connected: 84% of households in Philadelphia now have broadband Internet, a 14% jump from 2019 to this year.
What's helped? The City of Philadelphia’s Household Internet Assessment Survey, led by Wilco, points to programs that connect people for free or at a discount.
Comcast says more than 520,000 people in Philadelphia alone have taken advantage of its Internet Essentials program over the past decade.
One of those residents getting online for $9.95 a month is Nancy Gordon-Turner.
"My mobility is very limited," she told the crowd at an event this month in North Philadelphia marking the 10th anniversary of Internet Essentials. "I'm currently looking for a job that allows me to work at home. This is my biggest dream. Having a computer and internet will help me fulfill this dream."
You can read the full Household Internet Assessment Survey findings below.
More than 64,000 Philadelphia families also turned to the federal government's Emergency Broadband Benefit. The initiative, which started in May, provides those who are eligible a discount of up to $50 a month for broadband service. There's also a device discount of up to $100 for a computer or tablet.
But as with all these programs, many more people are eligible than have signed up. As of this month, about 6.5 million households nationwide had enrolled for EBB, according to the Federal Communications Commission. It's estimated that number accounts for fewer than 20% of those who are eligible.
The study suggests the city should spend more money to raise awareness about EBB, Internet Essentials, and similar programs, as well as tailor outreach to low-income and older adults.
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"The effective outreach, the 'connecting people' is done best by those who are closest to the communities in need, who are trusted most by the communities in need," said Bret Perkins, Comcast's senior VP for external and government affairs.
The study echoes that sentiment, recommending investment by the city in organizations neighbors know to help them apply for discounts and learn computer skills.
There's also a campaign to make the EBB permanent. The study finds support in statistics for adding broadband to the social safety net: about a third of Philadelphia households say they would find it hard to keep high-speed internet service without discounts, and more than 90% say a monthly fee of anything greater than $20 is too expensive for their budgets.