--- title: Comcast to Offer Low-Cost Internet to Seniors description: Less than 50% of senior citizens have Internet, and Comcast is trying to change that for the low-income elderly. authors: - name: Ethan Wolff-Mann url: https://money.com/author/ethan-wolff-mann/ at_money_since: 2015 articles: 160 covers: - Technology - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/ewolffmann former_staff: true published: '2015-08-21T15:20:16.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T06:36:54.000Z' section: Technology tags: - affordable Internet - Internet - senior citizens - TV - Wi-Fi word_count: 221 canonical: https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A sign is posted in front of a Comcast service center on July 13, 2015 in San Rafael, California.](https://img.money.com/2015/08/150820_em_comcast.jpg?crop=297px%2C400px%2C1643px%2C923px&quality=85) According to recent polls, [85% of Americans](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/28/15-of-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they/) use the Internet, but [less than half](http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/appendix-detailed-demographic-tables/) of senior citizens have Internet access at home. This week, Comcast [announced plans](http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/comcast-extends-internet-essentials-to-low-income-senior-citizens-in-san-francisco) to improve the opportunity for older folks to get online by introducing a new low-cost Internet program for low-income seniors in San Francisco and, not surprisingly, retiree-friendly Palm Beach County, Fla. The initiative is an expansion of a Comcast program called “Internet Essentials,” which began in 2011 to provide affordable Internet and computers to low-income families. Comcast recently [boosted the speed](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/04/comcast-upgrades-its-internet-essentials-plan/31091247/) of Internet Essentials from 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps. While this kind of service won’t allow a family of five to all stream different Netflix shows at the same time, the $9.95 per month program is speedy enough for grandparents to Skype with family living on the other side of the world. A free wi-fi router is included as well for Internet Essentials customers. It’s currently unclear who will qualify for the seniors Internet Essentials test program--for now, the option is available to the somewhat vague group of "low-income seniors over 65" living in the two areas mentioned above. It's also unclear when (or if) the program will expand to low-income seniors around the country, and what the exact requirements would be. ***Read next: [Why 15% of Americans Still Don’t Have the Internet](https://money.com/americans-not-online-cite-costs/)*** ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Technology", "item": "https://money.com/technology/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wi-Fi", "item": "https://money.com/wi-fi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Comcast to Offer Low-Cost Internet to Seniors" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/", "name": "Comcast to Offer Low-Cost Internet to Seniors", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-08-21T15:20:16.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T06:36:54.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Comcast to Offer Low-Cost Internet to Seniors", "articleSection": "Technology", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/08/150820_em_comcast.jpg?crop=297px%2C400px%2C1643px%2C923px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "150820_EM_Comcast" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ethan Wolff-Mann", "url": "https://money.com/author/ethan-wolff-mann/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/ethan-wolff-mann/#author", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/ewolffmann" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-08-21T15:20:16.000Z", "description": "Less than 50% of senior citizens have Internet, and Comcast is trying to change that for the low-income elderly.", "abstract": "Less than 50% of senior citizens have Internet, and Comcast is trying to change that for the low-income elderly.", "@id": "https://money.com/comcast-cheap-internet-seniors/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T06:36:54.000Z", "wordCount": 221, "keywords": [ "affordable Internet", "Internet", "senior citizens", "TV", "Wi-Fi" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Technology", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Wi-Fi", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi" ] } ] } ] } ```