CHARLESTON, WV (February 22, 2012) - The West Virginia House of Delegates has issued a Legislative Citation recognizing the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL) and its support of Comcast’s innovative Internet Essentials program, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program.

Internet Essentials, launched last fall across the nation everywhere Comcast provides service, seeks to help bridge the digital divide by providing low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month, the option to purchase a full-service, Internet-ready computer for under $150, and access to free digital literacy training to families with students in the National School Lunch Program.

Delegates Meshea Poore (District 31) and Charlene Marshall (District 44), who are NOBEL members, joined local Comcast officials at the West Virginia State Capitol Tuesday for the presentation of the citation.

“We believe this is a way for families who in the past could not afford Internet access or a computer to now obtain these vital tools of modern life and the modern economy,” said Delegate Poore. “The Internet Essentials program will give hundreds of thousands of students throughout our state the opportunity to experience the benefits that the Internet has to offer.”

Comcast, which recently announced it had connected 41,000 families (an estimated 160,000 Americans) in just the first five months of the program, contacted every West Virginia school district in its service area upon launching Internet Essentials. It also recently announced plans to expand eligibility, double the speed of the broadband connection, further streamline the registration and approval processes and enrich online and in-person training efforts.

Added Delegate Marshall, “The free training offered by Internet Essentials will give families the know-how and the confidence to use the program’s low-cost computer and affordable broadband access to pursue opportunities – in employment, education, health, family finances and many other areas.”