NYC Extends Free Internet Program for Low Income

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 — One day after dropping out of the 2025 mayoral race, New York City Mayor Eric Adams moved to extend Big Apple Connect, the nation’s largest municipally subsidized broadband program, through 2028.

Big Apple Connect, the city’s program to provide free internet and cable service to public housing residents, now reaches 330,000 New Yorkers across 220 NYC Housing Authority developments. The city spent $38 million on the program annually.

The program includes Spectrum and Optimum's pledge of $1.2 million to support digital literacy in city libraries and fund an online hub offering skills training for public housing residents.

Adams announced the extension alongside NYCHA Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser, who called the program “the gold standard for municipal broadband initiatives” and credited it with “transforming the lives of working-class New Yorkers.”

Adams’s exit has reshaped the mayoral race, although State Senator Zohran Mamdani remains the leading contender. Mamdani has not made broadband a significant point in his campaign, but his legislative record includes co-sponsoring bills to expand internet access in temporary housing and strengthen consumer protections for digital services.

“Every New Yorker deserves affordable, reliable internet. Internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity in today’s world,” Adams said Monday.