June 15, 2012

TWC, CFY Ramp Discounted NYC Broadband Program

Building on their ongoing successful partnership, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and CFY, a national education nonprofit that helps low-income communities benefit from digital learning, will bring “deeply discounted” broadband access to more New York City families.

The two have teamed since 2010 to bring broadband Internet to New Yorkers, regardless of their social or economic status, and it’s facilitated by NYC Connected Foundations and NYC Connected Learning, citywide initiatives managed by the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications plus the New York City Department of Education. Funding comes from a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Through these programs, TWC offers “complimentary or significantly discounted” broadband Internet services to eligible families with no existing broadband service.

“Not having Internet access can slow down a person’s life in very real ways, from a child not being able to properly research school projects to a parent not being able to conduct online job searches,” notes John Quigley, TWC’s regional vice president/Operations for NYC. 

“At CFY, we believe that the promise of digital learning lies in its ability to engage students in the classroom and extend student learning outside the classroom and into the home,” said Cindy Menz-Erb, CFY-New York City Executive Director. “Our partnership with Time Warner Cable is helping CFY partner schools realize this promise: students and their parents now have fast access to valuable online learning tools at home, including CFY’s PowerMyLearning.com platform, and teachers now have more options to foster learning during out-of-school time.”

A recent TWC survey found that 25 percent of all New Yorkers who visit a community or recreation center like having access to a computer with high-speed Internet. The service ranked even higher with African American and Hispanic New Yorkers, who ranked it at 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively. And this is interesting: the survey also found that, if New Yorkers had to trim budgets, they would give up taxi rides (75 percent) and their cellphones (14 percent) before cutting Internet access (7 percent).

TWC also has pledged to carry $1 million worth of Public Service Announcements for the Broadband Opportunity Coalition (BBOC). "The PSA series emphasizes the importance of broadband Internet adoption for economic success in the 21st Century economy, particularly for struggling communities," the operator says.