Charter To Extend Its Low Cost Internet Service For Students And Seniors

Charter Communications has announced its plans to expand its low-cost internet service for students and low-income seniors in the Grand Junction area.

According to Charter officials, the Spectrum Internet Assist program will be made available to various underprivileged sections of the community. This includes the children of low-income families that participate in the National School Lunch Programs and seniors aged at least 65 years on Supplemental Security Income.

Paul Kugler, Charter Director of Field Operations states that the $15 per month high-speed broadband internet service is aimed at bridging the economic gap and digital divide for low-income individuals. It is reported that the company has also donated a sum of $1000 to the center during the event to help in its efforts to bolster internet connectivity among the students.

Charter has announced the program at the Riverside Educational Center that provides education to about 125 low-income school district 51 students on a daily basis.  Joy Hudak, Riverside Educational Center Executive Director stated about the importance of internet access among students for all their educational and career requirements.

“It’s a really great opportunity for the kids to be able to keep up with their wealthier counterparts,” she said. “What do you do when you are a kid who does not have internet at home? Kids that don’t have it can get left in the dust.”

Hudak also spoke about the immense potential of Charter’s program in serving a large number of the district’s 22,000 students. In these, approximately 51 percent of the students are qualified for the free lunch programs given in the schools. She further stated that, “It’s always great for us to partner with people and organizations that contribute to the long-term sustainability of our program.”

As a measure of support for Charter’s program, the Grand Junction City Councilor Marty Chazen along with some local government officials also participated in the event. During the presiding talks, Councilor Chazen stressed the importance of internet connectivity for his older family members to remain connected to the world.

Councilor Chazen particularly stated the difficulties that children face in their educational tasks like homework without the aid of internet access. He said, “It’s a really good service at a really good price. I think it’s going to serve these two populations very nicely.”

Many of the best internet providers in the country have recently rolled out cheap internet services to the low-income sections of the society. Yet Charter leads ahead of them by being the first to extend the services to the senior citizens also.