A subsidized broadband program in New York City has won a three-year extension — along with some fresh funding.
The program, called Big Apple Connect, launched in September 2022.
It has since provided “free, fast, reliable and safe Internet” to 330,000 people who live in some 220 developments operated by the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA, according to city officials.
According to a statement, the extension also includes $1.2 million from digital TV providers Optimum and Spectrum for digital literacy programming at libraries. The program also includes a new webpage with “virtual training sessions,” job search assistance and other features.
City officials estimate the program saves participating households at least $1,700 a year. The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation is billed directly for the people who take part in Big Apple Connect.
The mayor and his top officials said the program helps to reduce the “digital divide” in the city.
“Since its creation three years ago, ‘Big Apple Connect’ has transformed the lives of working-class New Yorkers across the five boroughs and become the gold standard for municipal broadband initiatives,” said Matthew Fraser, NYC’s chief technology officer, in the statement.
The Big Apple Connect extension comes soon after the city announced that, in partnership with T-Mobile, some 350,000 public school students would get new computers with high-speed Internet access — another move to bridge the digital divide.
The program already has made serious strides, officials said, estimating that up to 40 percent of NYCHA residents lacked broadband access three years ago.
New York state, meanwhile, is spending money to increase digital access in certain areas, as the push to bring more broadband to rural areas remains a point of political contention.
The state also has made recent moves to strengthen use of electric school buses and strengthen cyber defenses for water plants.