A recent Ipsos-Reid study found that while 91 percent of Canadians currently access the Internet at home, that number drops to 70 percent in households with an annual income under $25,000 (Canadian).
To help tackle that issue, Rogers Communications is reporting that it’s expanding its Connected for Success program to everywhere it provides Internet service. People living in rent-geared-to-income non-profit housing in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador will now have access to the low-cost program, which started in Toronto in 2013. The service is available for $9.99/month and includes speeds of up to 10 Mbps download and up to 1 Mbps upload.
“We’ve had a tremendous response to our pilot project with Toronto Community Housing and are thrilled to expand Connected for Success to our whole cable internet footprint,” Deepak Khandelwal, chief customer officer at Rogers says. “From kids connecting after the school day is done to seniors staying in touch with their friends and using banking or government services, Internet access isn’t a nice to have – it’s a necessity in our digital world.”
The expansion is starting in Ottawa, in partnership with Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation and other non-profit housing agencies.
“We’re really excited that our tenants will be able to take advantage of this offer. It’s especially important that kids will be able to access the internet from an early age so they can learn and not fall behind,” Debbie Barton, manager, rental department at Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corp., says.
Rogers also has launched Internet 5, a new low-cost service for $24.99 (modem rental $8/month extra) that is available to anyone within Rogers’ Internet service area.
