According to the Pew Research Center, there are 5 million households with school-age kids that don’t have access to high speed internet. Couple that reality with the fact seven out of 10 teachers assign web-based homework assignments and you’re left with what U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel calls the “homework gap.” She described it as the “cruelest part of the digital divide,” in an interview with the New York Times.
To help address the homework gap, Sprint last year launched its 1 Million Project with the goal of connecting a million low-income students who don’t have access to the internet at home. “Our goal of reaching 1 million students over the next five years would make this one of the biggest and most ambitious initiatives ever launched to help close the homework gap,” company spokeswoman Lisa Belot said.
Since launching in October, Sprint has provided free devices and service to 180,000 high school students in 1,300 schools spread across 30 states, she said.
Most recently Sprint connected more than 20,000 students in the Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Hernando, St. Lucie and Pinellas school districts in Florida.
“We, at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, are committed to programs and partnerships that consistently raise the bar on student academic achievement,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “Our goal is to constantly innovate, ensuring school is never out of session. We want to create a continuous environment of learning so that students may capitalize on a multitude of academic enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom door. Thanks to Sprint’s donation, we can make that goal a reality for 14,000 students.”
Participating students receive:
- 3 GB of LTE data per month and unlimited 2G data;
- A free smartphone, tablet or hot spot;
- Free use of hot spot capabilities;
- And unlimited domestic calls and texts.
The 1 Million Project is just one way Sprint is addressing the digital divide. In partnership with the Denver Housing Authority, Sprint has connected it’s Magic Box small cell in five, 10-story residential buildings with an average per box coverage capacity of 30,000-square-feet. The DHA buildings are home to between 75 and 200 people per building. At the Barney Ford Heights building, average download speed has increased from 23 Mbps to 36 Mpbs, and, at a North Lincoln building, the same measure has gone from 6 Mbps to 26 Mbps.
DHA Director of Digital Inclusion Tony Frank said access to broadband “is a bridge to the future and high-quality, reliable connectivity is key for our families. He said residents were using the service to “navigate school resources, complete homework, apply and jobs and much more. It is a bridge to opportunity.”
