Starry Connect Expands to HACLA’s Avalon Gardens

At a time where online access is crucial to our livelihoods and our sense of community, high-cost internet services continue to disproportionately exclude fixed and low-income families unable to afford the cost of this critical service. The need is vast. In the United States, 26.7 million homes don’t have access to home internet and, in Los Angeles County alone, it is estimated that almost 365,000 households lack home broadband internet service.

On February 18, alongside Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, we announced an expansion of our Starry Connect program to Avalon Gardens, a 164-unit Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) community located in the Green Meadows neighborhood of Los Angeles.

“Access to a reliable internet connection is more essential today than ever for parents, students, job seekers, and folks looking to stay connected with their loved ones,” said Garcetti during the Avalon Gardens launch event. “Through this program, Starry is providing the residents of Avalon Gardens with that connection and opening new doors of opportunity to employment, education, and more.”

Starry first launched its partnership with HACLA in June 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and since that time, we have expanded our service to nine communities and more than 4,600 units of HACLA housing. Through an innovative partnership with Microsoft’s Airband initiative, we’ve been able to  accelerate the availability of low-cost broadband access to five HACLA communities, including Avalon Gardens.

Read more about our HACLA expansion announcement here.

To learn more about Starry Connect and how we support digital access in public and affordable housing visit: 51jiyangshi.com/connect.