Sprint handing out 1 million devices to students

With mobile technology becoming increasingly ubiquitous, having access to a handset is becoming an increasingly necessary part of staying alive in the modern world. However, due to the cost of mobile tech, not everybody has the accessibility to it that many do. That’s where Sprint is coming in.

In collaboration with the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative started by President Obama in 2014, Sprint is committing themselves to donating one million internet-connected devices to disadvantaged male youths. These devices will also come with the requisite mobile service to make sure that these teens can stay connected to the world even if they don’t have an internet connection at home.

Sprint attests that this is part of an effort to reduce the “homework gap” that is causing lower income students to perform more poorly across the board due to a lack of connectivity away from school. The effects of this gap are believed to be far-reaching, affecting high school completion, college acceptance rates, and job acquisition further down the line.

Sprint isn’t just throwing these smartphones and tablets out into the wild, however. They’re working with social agencies to match devices with individual students. 3GB of LTE accessibility will be made available every month, and unlimited data will be provided at a 2G tier once this quota is expended. These devices will also be able to act as wifi hotspots and will have unlimited calls and texts while not roaming.

All in all, a very forward move by Sprint, and we’d like to see more things like this going forward. But what are your thoughts regarding Sprint’s collaboration with the My Brother’s Keeper program? Let us know your take in the comments below!