Comcast is increasing the speed of your Internet Essentials package 25/3 Mbps to 50/5 Mbps from March 1, 2020 at no additional cost. The move is part of what the ISP says is a long-term commitment to digital equity and that offering speeds to low-income families above the minimum set by the FCC will help “accelerate” these plans throughout 2021.
On the one hand, it looks like a good faith extension to finally bring decent Internet families and low-income communities. But, on the other hand, it highlights how ISPs like Comcast have always had the ability to do that.
“Today’s announcement shows that Comcast can improve its services to families and needy community members at any time,” said Devren Washington, Senior Policy Organizer for the Movement Alliance Project, in a statement. “25 Mbps is not enough when children, caregivers and communities depend on an internet connection.”
Comcast had already increased its Internet Essentials speed from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps in March 2020 in response to the covid-19 pandemic and initially created the low-income internet plan as part of your negotiationiations with federal regulators to acquire NBCUniversal. But, until that March increase, the company provided Internet Essentials customers with broadband speeds below the minimum set by the FCC for five years.
The Comcast announcement too, by the way, comes almost a week later Buzzfeed published an interview with a former Comcast employeeand, Chase Roper, who said that the current speeds of the plan are not fast enough for students to attend classes via Zoom. Videoconferencing doesn’t just take up a lot of download bandwidth – IThis requires a lot of upload bandwidth also.
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“Spending all of our time in Zoom, you’re sending a lot more than before, ”Katharine Trendacosta, associate director of policies and activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Gizmodo. “The FCC-The defined minimum is set at a level that makes it easier for companies like Comcast to claim that they are covering more people, but as the pandemic has shown, that minimum is not enough for the modern era. “
Comcast says it has also committed to creating 1,000 “lift zsome”(Ie free wi-fi) at community centers across the country, in December 2021, including several in Philadelphia. “Many of the children who come to our clubs do not have Internet at home or do, but they cannot study at home for a variety of reasons and need a place to go,” said Lisabeth Marziello, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia at Comcast 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 access to the Internet. However, the “lifting zones ” are probably the result of communities fighting for them. Before the start of the 2020-2021 school year, teachers, parents and Internet advocates protested that Comcast provided a better internet for Philadelphia students. The Philadelphia Inquirer At the time, Protestants wanted Comcast to not only increase customer speed on its Internet Essentials plan, but also to open more free Wi-Fi hotspots. That was in August 2020, and Comcast Internet Essentials customers are right now about to get better internet speeds, almost in the middle of the spring semester.
It is a worrying reminder that ISPs have the ability to restructure their Internet packages and even waive data limits and surplus rates, at any time they choose – they simply choose not to. In November 2020, Comcast announced that start charging Xfinity customers in the northeastern USS. claims $ 10 for every 50 GB of data above your 1.2 TB monthly data limit. This change took effect last month.
As of now, customers don’t have an unlimited plan yet –like those who pay for the Internet Essentials package –You can get exemption from any excess fees. But that stops later this month. Thereafter, customers receive a “courtesy” credit each year if they exceed the data limit on accident.
Gizmodo contacted Comcast to ask about the timing of today’s announcement and find out if the company has plans to increase its data limits soon, but has yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers asked the ISP to remove its data limits at least until the pandemic was over.