WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has secured commitments from U.S. companies worth about $750 million to get more students connected to high-speed Internet.
AT&T, Sprint, Apple and Microsoft are among the companies pitching in. Obama was to announce the commitments Tuesday at a middle school in the Maryland suburbs near Washington.
The Federal Communications Commission plans to devote $2 billion generated from service fees to connecting 20 million students. It’s all part of Obama’s goal to get 99 percent of American students connected within five years.
The White House says Apple is pledging $100 million in iPads, computers and other tools. AT&T and Sprint are contributing free wireless service. And Microsoft is making Windows available at a discounted price and offering 12 million free copies of Microsoft Office software.
