Comcast Offers $10 Internet Service
Low-Income families gain internet access through Comcast service

Our local cable provider, Comcast is to taking steps to close the digital divide between the “haves” and “havenots”. The company announced a new program, called Internet Essentials, which will offer discounted Internet service and computers to low-income families.

The project is a result of the recent Comcast-NBC merger, in which the company agreed to “increase broadband deployment in low income households” as one of a number of conditions to the acquisition.

According to Comcast’s blog, Internet service is available to families for only $9.95 a month as long as they meet the following requirements:
• Are located where Comcast offers Internet service (currently in 39 states)
• Have at least one child receiving free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program
• Have not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days
• Do not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment

In our increasingly digital society, it is imperative that opportunities to access information exist for people in varying income levels. In accordance with the World Wide Web’s 20th birthday, we applaud this effort by Comcast to meet the needs of their customers and bring the internet to the people.

FBI Launches First App
FBI launches its first mobile application called ‘Child ID’

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is embracing digital technology yet again. On Friday, the FBI announced the debut of its very first mobile application called ‘Child ID’.

Parents can download the app on their iPhones and store photos and important information about their children such as height, weight, etc. This information will be vital to helping the FBI quickly solve missing child cases. According to the FBI, a child goes missing in America every 40 seconds.

Additionally, parents can email authorities through the app and learn what to do immediately after a child goes missing. While the app is only available on the iPhone now, the agency is working to develop it for other mobile devices.

More and more we are seeing security and other public services embracing social media tools and tactics to relay important information to their audiences. As technological innovations continue, we hope to see more practical uses of these state-of-the-art tools.