Atlantic Broadband Is the First Internet Provider to Connect Customers Under the State’s “Everybody Learns” Initiative

Atlantic Broadband, the nation’s eighth-largest cable operator, today announced it was the first internet provider in Connecticut to deliver broadband internet to households with school-aged children to support remote learning under the State’s “Everybody Learns” initiative.

In July, Governor Ned Lamont launched the “Everybody Learns” initiative to close the digital divide in Connecticut and empower students to learn from home. The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) allocated state-level funding from the CARES Act and portions of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund to support the initiative.

“The CSDE is committed to realizing the Governor’s vision and ensuring that neither a device nor internet connectivity is a barrier to student learning,” said Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Chief Performance Officer.

Since the initiative was announced, the state has been coordinating with internet providers and school districts to ensure students receive the computers and high-quality internet coverage they need to participate in at-home learning whether hybrid or fully remote. Atlantic Broadband and other internet providers in the state have worked closely with officials from the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology, the Connecticut State Department of Education and local school districts to identify and reach out to households with students identified as needing access to at-home internet and computer equipment to enable distance learning.

“We are excited that the first households in the state were connected under the program this week by Atlantic Broadband,” said Doug Casey, Executive Director of the Connecticut State Commission for Educational Technology (CET). “We thank Atlantic Broadband and other providers in the state for supporting this initiative and quickly working through the details of operationalizing the ‘Everybody Learns’ program so that students can begin to benefit from these vital connections at this critical time. We look forward to further successes in the weeks ahead.”

“Distance learning requires reliable, high-performance broadband internet,” said Nadine Heinen, Northeast Region Director for Atlantic Broadband. “We are pleased to partner with local and state school officials in Connecticut to support this initiative by identifying unserved households and providing connectivity to student households that need it most.”

ABOUT ATLANTIC BROADBAND
Atlantic Broadband, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is the eighth- largest cable operator in the United States, based on the number of television service customers served. The company provides its residential and business customers with internet, TV and phone services in 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Atlantic Broadband is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. To learn more about Atlantic Broadband, please visit https://atlanticbb.com.

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