Tech Companies Expect Free High-Speed Internet for Poorer Americans to Pay Off Later

There is an axiom in technology: New products typically go to wealthy customers first, before prices eventually fall to reach the masses.

With broadband now classified like a utility, telecom and tech companies, including Sprint, Comcast and Facebook, are increasingly working to make high-speed internet accessible to every American, not just a luxury. The companies are among those that have set their sights on bringing free or cheap high-speed internet service to low-income and rural populations in the United States, spurred by philanthropy and, for some, the hope of turning Americans who are not online today into full-paying customers in the future.

By CECILIA KANG

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/technology/free-broadband-initiatives-for-poor-and-rural-areas-with-eye-on-future.html?hpw&rref=education&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0