Last week, Cox Communications announced the increased speed of its low-cost internet option for families introduced at the onset of COVID-19 will be permanent.
The option, known as Connect2Compete, is available at $9.95 per month for families with school-aged children who are enrolled in government financial assistance programs.
The company boosted the speed of the service from 25 Mpbs to 50 in March 2020 to support families in greatest need as education moved online due to the virus.
“We initially provided an internet speed boost to our Connect2Compete customers to ensure families could continue learning and working from home without interruption,” John Wolfe, southwest region manager and senior vice president of Cox Communications, said in a press release.
“Although many restrictions are being lifted and people are heading back to schools and workplaces, we want to make sure regardless of circumstance, our customers can have the internet bandwidth they need to be successful.”
Families can apply for the Connect2Compete service online.
The option offered by Cox is designed to create digital fairness for students and families that may have previously lacked internet access in their homes.
Cox reported an overall increase of 161% of families using the service in the past year.
“We know that reliable access to technology and broadband internet has always been an issue of educational equity,” Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said in the release. “These challenges existed prior to COVID-19, but the pandemic exposed the critical need to connect hundreds of thousands of students and their families to technology.
“I am thankful for the continued partnership of Cox Communications to provide low-income students and families with higher internet speeds and I look forward to working with their leadership as we find ways to bridge the digital divide in Arizona.”
Cox Communications is also offering a monthly internet service discount to those who qualify as part of the Federal Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. The discount, part of the stimulus bill passed in December, will continue until the federal funds run out.
More information, including qualifications for the discount, can be found online.
Cox serves approximately 2.5 million subscribers in the metro Phoenix area.
