Comcast (News - Alert), a company offering entertainment, information and communications products and services, has introduced a broadband adoption program called Internet Essentials, aimed at helping low-income students build digital literacy skills.

This program was inaugurated at a special event held at Kramer Middle School in Washington, D.C. Attendees included Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Kramer Middle School principal Kwame Simmons, and former NFL coach and Internet Essentials spokesman Tony Dungy – all of whom highlighted new enhancements to the program and distributed hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies and information on Internet Essentials to students in conjunction with the Backpacks 4 Kids program.

The program has already helped more than 100,000 families (400,000 Americans) nationwide, including approximately 2,000 families (8,000 residents) in the Washington, D.C. area. Comcast plans to enhance the program further with new features and processes designed to accelerate enrollment.

"In our ultra-competitive world, it is essential that families have access to the Internet," Mayor Gray said. "Reliable broadband access helps our children become stronger students and prepares them for an increasingly interconnected world. I am proud of the work we have done to help close the digital divide in Washington, D.C., but there is still much more to be done. I'm urging all members of our community to spread the word about the need to connect more families and help increase broadband adoption."

Internet Essentials is helping to level the playing field for hundreds of thousands of children and their parents, and they would not have been able to connect these families without the strong support of numerous legislators, schools and community-based organizations across the Washington, D.C. area and beyond.

Comcast will select eligible families to be enrolled in the program through the end of the 2013-2014 school year, and any household that qualifies will remain eligible for Internet Essentials if at least one child eligible for either a free or reduced price school lunch remains living in the household.

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