On Friday, Apr. 16, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo officially signed a bill that covers the low-income households in the state with high-speed internet. This time around, it will be offered for $15 per month so many users could be able to utilize it especially in the middle of the pandemic.
New NY Law Offers Low-Cost Broadband to Low-Income Users
In a report by Bloomberg, Amy Paulin, a member of the NY Assembly stated that New York has currently an average broadband price which sits at $50.
The new law which was taken into effect by Cuomo will offer a $15 price for the regular broadband. If a New York resident wants to improve his/her broadband speed, he/she could go for the $20 broadband, but this only targets those who belong to the low-income people.
From the official statement released by Cuomo's office, there are more than 7 million people out of 2.7 million households who are considered low-income users.
This move is an impressive action for creating a vast internet service that is affordable to the residents. In an interview with The Verge, Internet Service Providers should supply the people with two options for $15 a month: the speed of the current ISP broadband service to low-income households or the 25 Mbps down.
The latter shared the same speed as FCC's broadband. However, this is not categorized as high-speed internet. Since 2015, there are criticisms that FCC has received in its broadband service which was believed to be "outdated."
Earlier last month, the senators have requested the FCC to improve their broadband service as 100 Mbps up and 100 Mbps down since it would mirror how people utilize their internet.
Regardless of the comparison in the service, selecting a monthly $15-internet is much better compared to a $50 internet per month which bears the same speed.
For those who are residing in New York City, expect to afford a faster internet as the same bill implements a cap price of $20 per month for a 200 Mbps broadband.
Cuomo Launches Affordable Broad Portal and ConnectEd NY Fund
Not only the internet service was the concern of New York City to its people, but also the Affordable Broadband Portal, which is a newly-launched website by Cuomo for those who want to seek an affordable internet in their location.
Moreover, he is also headed to establish the ConnectED NY fund in collaboration with the Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures, a venture facility founded by Eric Schmidt, the Google founder.
The fund will be allocated to about 50,000 students from disadvantaged schools. The operation will persist through June 2022.
Providing high-end and affordable internet to everyone is a must during these times. Since people rely on the digital era nowadays, the service should be continuous so people could live their life to the fullest despite adversaries like a crisis, public health threats, and other problems.
Related Article: FCC Authorizes High-Speed Internet Subsidy to Low Income Households in America
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Written by Joen Coronel
