Comcast announced a new bill amnesty program that will make things easier for many low-income families to sign up. The expanded program is intended to get more students online at home. This new initiative is dropping the previous requirement that former customers must settle any outstanding bills before signing up for the service. The Internet Essentials program was originally launched in 2011 as a part of a three year deal to acquire NBCUniversal, but has now been extended indefinitely.

Consumer advocates had complained that Comcast was hurting the children of low-income families by excluding those that lost their previous cable service because they didn’t pay their bills. This was creating a greater burden low-income children and creating further gaps in education for students in urban areas. The change could make it easier for some low-income families to get low-cost, $10-a-month Internet plan, which guarantees speeds of five megabits per second and qualifies families to purchase reduced-priced PCs.

Comcast has cited its Internet Essentials program to regulators as one of the benefits of its bid to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. With regulatory approval, the goodwill program would be extended into more urban areas, most notably in New York City and Los Angeles, which are both under Time Warner Cable control.

Internet Essentials is only available to families that have at least one child eligible for the federal school lunch program. It costs $10 a month (plus taxes) but was only available to families that hadn’t subscribed to Comcast’s Internet service in the last three months. Now, consumers with an outstanding Comcast balance more than a year old can qualify for the program. However, households that have a more current overdue bill will still be disqualified until the money is paid.

As part of the announcement, Comcast said it would waive the first six months of fees, roughly $60, for new customers.