MY TURN: AT&T helping to bridge digital divide with new program

By Pamela Lackey | Consumers who do not use Internet service are most likely to say price is the issue that stranded them on the wrong side of the digital divide.

But now AT&T is launching a new initiative to address the problem. Called “Access from AT&T,” the program will help bring low-cost Internet access to qualifying households.

In 2010, the FCC was correct in saying the Internet “is changing how we educate children, deliver health care, manage energy, ensure public safety, engage government, and access, organize and disseminate knowledge.” While many consumers, nationally and here in South Carolina, understood the tremendous benefits which high-speed Internet could deliver, a sizeable number did not. According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of consumers without a home Internet connection in 2010 did not see a “major disadvantage” in being disconnected.

Today, however, opinions are different. Two-thirds of those without a home connection say they face a major disadvantage in many areas, including job searches, accessing health information or connecting with government services.³ One-in-three Americans do not have Internet service at home and the monthly cost of service is the #1 reason they give for its absence.

Whether it is used in a job search, to access virtual library shelves, or to complete an online education, we truly believe access to the Internet can change people’s lives for the better. So we are excited that starting in April of this year we are launching a new program which will make home wireline Internet service available at a new low price to qualifying households in all 21 states in AT&T’s wireline footprint, including South Carolina.

AT&T’s program will be offered to households that participate in the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – and that have an address within our wireline Internet service area. AT&T will assign a speed of 10 Mbps, 5 Mbps, or 3Mbps—whichever is the fastest available at the customer’s address.  Customers assigned a speed tier of 10Mbps or 5Mbps will pay $10 per month, and those assigned 3Mbps will pay $5 per month.

Qualifying households will not be required to pay installation or modem fees to participate in the Access program from AT&T, which will last a total of four years.  Participants who sign-up for service in the fourth year will be eligible to receive discounted rates for 12 months.  Other eligibility requirements apply.

We are rapidly moving toward a fully-connected future. I am convinced that technology will change our daily lives ten years now in even more striking ways than it did in the past decade.  We are excited about the new Access from AT&T program and the opportunity it provides to help bridge the digital divide by allowing more South Carolinians will be able to more easily search for jobs, complete education courses, and connect with family and friends.

• For more information about the program please go to www.att.com/access  or call 1-855-220-5211 (1-855-220-5225 for Spanish).

Pamela Lackey is president of AT&T South Carolina.