Comcast is increases the speed of its Internet Essentials package from 25/3 Mbps to 50/5 Mbps from 1 March 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 low-income households above the FCC-defined minimum will help “accelerate” plans during 2021.
On the one hand, it does seem to be an extension of good faith. eventually bring low-income households and communities decent internet. But on the other hand, it highlights how ISPs like Comcast have always had the ability to do so.
“Today’s announcement shows that Comcast can improve its service to 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 if children, caregivers and communities rely on one internet connection.”
Earlier in March 2020, Comcast increased its Internet Essentials speed from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps in response to the covid-19 pandemic, initially drafting the low-income Internet plan as part of his negotiationiatius with federal regulators to acquire NBCUniversal. But until that March increase, the company provided Internet Essentials customers with broadband speeds below the FCC-defined minimum for five years.
Comcast’s announcement too, by the way, comes almost a week later Buzzfeed published an interview with a former Comcast employeee, Chase Roper, who said the current speed is not fast enough to attend students via Zoom. Video conferencing does not just take up a lot of download bandwidth – iIt requires a lot of bandwidth upload also.
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‘With all our time to Zuncle, you are uploading significantly more than before, ”Katharine Trendacosta, co-director of policy and activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Gizmodo. The FCCdefined minimum is set at a level that makes it easier for companies like Comcast to claim to cover more people, but as the pandemic has shown, the minimum is not sufficient for the modern era. ‘
Comcast says it has also committed to setting up 1 000 “lift zone”(Ie free wifi access) in community centers across the country, by December 2021, including several in Philadelphia. “Many of the children who come to our clubs do not have the internet at home, or they have it, but they cannot 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 working with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club to provide students with reliable internet access. Yet Comcast’s “lift zones ” is probably the result of communities fighting for it. Before the start of the school year 2020-2021, teachers, parents and internet advocates argue for Comcast to provide better internet to the students of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Investigator at the time, those arguing explained that Comcast should not only increase customers’ speeds on their Internet Essentials plan, but also open more free wifi hotspots. That was in August 2020, and Comcast’s Internet Essentials customers are netnou on the verge of getting better internet speeds, almost halfway through the spring.
It’s a sobering reminder that ISPs can restructure their Internet packages, and even waive data charges and fees, whenever they want – they just choose not to. In November 2020, Comcast announced that this would happen start charging Xfinity customers in the northeast of US. state $ 10 for every 50 GB of data over their 1.2 TB monthly data space. This change took effect last month.
As of now, customers do not have an unlimited plan—such as those who pay for the Internet Essentials package—may waive any excess fee. But it stops at the end of this month. Thereafter, customers receive one “courtesy credit” each year if they exceed their data space accident.
Gizmodo reaches out to Comcast to ask about the timing of today’s announcement and to find out if the company has plans to cancel its data soon, but has yet to respond. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Massachusetts asked the ISP to at least remove its data caps until the pandemic is over.