(powerful music)
It's essential for people to be connected
'cause the world would just move right on
around them if they wasn't.
Without internet, we would be without resources.
Lower-income families have a difficult time
accessing the internet.
Over the last year and a half, we attempted
to find partners to bridge the digital divide.
T-Mobile said yes at hello.
The ConnectHome program is helping the people
who need connections to be a part of the digital society.
The internet has gone mobile
and there's not better network than
the T-Mobile LTE Network for these folks to connect to.
We kicked this off about 18 months ago around the country
in different cities like New York City,
Montgomery Country, Maryland, Philadelphia.
Let's give the folks from T-Mobile a Philly kinda welcome.
(audience cheering)
Today's event is the culmination
of a lot of work with T-Mobile.
We initially asked them for about 350 devices.
I went back and I said, can we get another 4000?
They said yes.
It's extraordinary that a company
not even based in Philadelphia
would be able to step up to the plate
in a way that no other company has.
The impact that I see first-hand for students
that get a tablet are increased test scores,
lower dropout rate.
People end up bettering their circumstances and moving up
because they get education, they get training.
In the building behind me,
they're actually training individuals
on how to use the tablets.
I ain't been on the Dean's list
since I went back to college.
I have online classes.
So now, instead of me being in a library
or paying for a babysitter,
I can have my children in the home.
Thank God for letting me be with this program
so I can have the tablet.
I can do my homework with it,
I can do youth ambassador work with it.
I never thought that something like this
could happen in my community.
Thousands of families touched by this project
will now have access to the nation's
fastest mobile internet.
The team's working hard nationwide to make connections.
We're committed to this.
We're looking forward to building more partnerships
with the city, with the local government,
and with businesses.
At T-Mobile, we consider this just the start.
There's more to come.
Thank you so much.
(cheering)