Mediacom Communications announced this week that over the past 12 months, it has doubled the number of K-12 student families who receive low-cost Internet service to extend educational learning from classrooms to home. Today, more than 2,000 families who did not previously have home Internet service use Connect2Compete, a product Mediacom makes available to low-income families with K-12 students. That number includes 513 student families throughout southwest Georgia.

Connect2Compete provides low-cost, high-speed Internet service to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This offering, which Mediacom subsidizes as an educational initiative, includes robust home WiFi. Eligible families pay $9.95 per month to receive the home Internet service, and equipment and installation fees are waived.

“Technology and the Internet play an essential role in student learning. As one of Georgia’s leading broadband companies, Mediacom recognizes the importance of closing the achievement gap between students in homes with access to high-speed Internet and those without it,” said Phil Skinner, Mediacom’s senior director for area operations in Georgia.

The number of Connect2Compete participants in southwest Georgia has grown every month and increased by 115 percent over the past year, Skinner said. The program is available in all communities along Mediacom’s broadband network, which extends from Columbus to Bainbridge and Valdosta and includes parts of a 30-county area of south and southwest Georgia.

Skinner explained that when Mediacom upgraded its fiber-based digital network two years ago to launch 1-Gig broadband speeds, the company also made a commitment to connect more low-income families to discounted service. “We have twice as many families participating today, compared to the prior school year. And we continue to invest company resources in Mediacom Connect2Compete to ensure that students don’t miss out on the benefits of living in an Internet-connected home,” Skinner said.