LOS ANGELES – Starry, Inc., (the "Company" or "Starry") a next generation licensed fixed wireless technology developer and internet service provider, today announced it has expanded its affordable, high-capacity internet service to the 164 households at Avalon Gardens, a Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) community in the Green Meadows neighborhood of Los Angeles. Avalon Gardens is the ninth HACLA community to be connected to Starry's affordable, high-speed broadband service and the fifth community to be connected as part of Starry's work with Microsoft's Airband Initiative. In addition, Starry announced plans with Microsoft to refurbish the Avalon Gardens community computer lab with new WiFi access, new computers, printers and accessories for use by residents.
Starry first launched its partnership with HACLA in June 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide its Starry Connect service to the 601 households at Mar Vista Gardens in Los Angeles' Del Rey neighborhood. In October 2020, Starry expanded on this effort with HACLA by collaborating with the Mayor's Office of Budget and Innovation and Microsoft's Airband Initiative to accelerate the availability of its low-cost, high-quality broadband service in four additional HACLA communities: Imperial Courts, Nickerson Gardens, Pueblo Del Rio and Jordan Downs. Reliable, affordable home broadband access has been critically important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to enable virtual learning, working from home and access to telehealth and social service resources. Through the collective efforts of Starry, HACLA, the Mayor's Office, and Microsoft, more than 4,600 HACLA households now have access to an affordable broadband option through Starry.
All HACLA residents within the nine served communities have the option to sign up for Starry Connect, a high-speed, 30 Mbps symmetrical home broadband service for $15 per month with no data caps, no long-term contracts, no credit checks, no extra fees for equipment and free installation and 24/7 world-class customer support. Additional speed tiers are also available to residents. HACLA residents can also sign up for Starry's service and opt-into the federal government's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal benefit will provide a discount of up to $30 per month towards home broadband access for eligible households.
Starry launched its Starry Connect program in 2018 to address the growing digital divide by providing an affordable and ultra-low-barrier broadband option to public and affordable housing communities. Starry Connect brings ultra-low-cost broadband service to public and affordable housing residents without requiring credit checks, long-term contracts, individual eligibility requirements (such as household participation in SNAP, WIC or Medicaid) or a lengthy application process. This innovative approach to removing broadband adoption barriers earned Starry designation as ConnectHomeUSA stakeholder through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2019.
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