Comcast is increasing the speed of its Internet Essentials package from 25/3 Mbps to 50/5 Mbps from March 1, 2020 at no extra cost. The change is part of what the ISP says is a long-term commitment to digital equity, and that offering speeds to low-income households above the FCC-defined minimum will help “ accelerate ” those plans in 2021.
On the one hand, it seems like an extension of good faith And last but not least provide decent internet for low-income households and communities. But then again, it shows how ISPs like Comcast have always been able to do this.
“Today’s announcement shows that Comcast can improve its service for families and community members in need at any time,” said Devren Washington, Senior Policy Organizer of the Movement Alliance Project. in a statement. “25 Mbps is not enough when children, caregivers and communities all depend on one internet connection.”
Comcast previously increased its Internet Essentials speed from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, initially creating the low-income Internet plan as part of his negotiationpleaseus with federal regulators to acquire NBCUniversal. But until that March rise, the company offered Internet Essentials customers slower broadband speeds the five-year minimum defined by the FCC.
Comcast’s announcement too, Moreover comes almost a week later Buzzfeed published an interview with a former Comcast employeee, Chase Roper, who said the plan’s current speeds aren’t fast enough for students to attend classes through Zoom. Video conferencing doesn’t just require a lot of download bandwidth – it takes up a lot of upload bandwidth to.
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“With all our time on Z.Uncle, you upload significantly more than you used to, ”Katharine Trendacosta, Associate Director of Policy and Activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Gizmodo. “The FCCThe defined minimum has been set at a level that makes it easier for companies like Comcast to claim to cover more people, but as the pandemic has shown, that minimum is not enough for the modern era. “
Comcast says it has also committed to setting it up 1,000 “lift zthe ones“(E.g free wifi access) in community centers across the country, by December 2021, including some in Philadelphia. “Many of the kids who come to our clubs either don’t have or have internet at home, but they can’t study at home for various reasons and they have to go somewhere,” said Lisabeth Marziello, president & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia in Comcast’s press release.
On the one hand, it’s great that Comcast is partnering with organizations like the Boys & Girls club to provide students with reliable Internet access. Yet Comcast’s “lift zones’ are likely the result of communities fighting for them. Prior to the start of the 2020-2021 school year, Teachers, parents and Internet lawyers protested for Comcast to provide better Internet for the students of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer stated at the time that those protesting wanted Comcast to not only increase speeds for customers on its Internet Essentials plan, but open more free Wi-Fi hotspots. That was in August 2020, and so are Comcast Internet Essentials customers just now on the verge of getting better internet speeds almost mid-spring semester.
It’s a sobering reminder that ISPs have the ability to restructure their Internet packages and even forgo data caps and overcharge fees whenever they want – they just choose not to. In November 2020, Comcast announced that this would happen start Xfinity customers in the northeast of U.S. sets $ 10 for every 50 GB of data over their 1.2 TB monthly data limit. That change went into effect last month.
From now on, customers who do not already have an unlimited subscription –like those who pay for the Internet Essentials package:any overage charges may be waived. But that will stop at the end of this month. Thereafter, customers receive one “courtesy” credit each year if they exceed their data limit accident.
Gizmodo reached out to Comcast to ask about the timing of today’s announcement and to find out if the company has plans to lift its data caps soon, but has yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers have asked the ISP to remove its data caps at least until the pandemic is over.