Time Warner in Kansas City Set to Launch "Starter Internet" Option for Low-Income Families

There are strong advocates for low-income people writing for Kansas City major media outlets, such as Mary Sanchez for the Kansas City Star. Her writing on September 19, 2012 about the digital divide and the Google Fiber project is one example of this advocacy.

In re-reading this article by Sanchez I noticed she highlighted "a little-publicized program begun in 2011 by the Federal Communications Commission. Households that qualify by poverty guidelines for free and reduced-price lunch at public schools can order Internet service by established providers such as Time Warner for about $10 a month and also buy low-cost computers."

Then last week she wrote in depth about Time-Warner's "Starter Internet" service. Information about this program, available for low-income families with school-age children, will be shared in a "major announcement about a pilot project that will expand Internet accessibility..." The event will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Kansas City Public Library, Helzberg Auditorium,14 West 10th Street, Kansas City, Missouri.

This program may be a better option than Google Fiber for low-income families that move frequently within the Kansas City area because families won't need to re-apply. Information shared at a Local Investment Commission meeting on November 19 indicates this mobility problem, where "in some high schools 50% of students move once during the year," so changing Internet providers becomes more expensive during each move.

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