Microsoft and Comcast have launched programs to provide greater Internet access to low-income kids. (LEX VAN LIESHOUT - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) Microsoft and Comcast both announced programs Tuesday to help lower-income students have access to broadband Internet and computers.

In partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative, Microsoft unveiled its Shape the Future, which will work to develop programs to that will help to increase student access to Windows-based PCs, broadband Internet access, Microsoft education software and job skills training.

The three-year initiative is intended to reach 1 million students from low-income families.

“At Microsoft, we believe all students should have access to the building blocks of a quality education,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education for Microsoft. “Putting technology in the hands of a student who did not have access is a powerful step on the path leading to graduation, employability and a better future.”

The company is partnering with several private and non-profit groups to develop the programs, as well as the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC was on hand to launch another low-income access program Tuesday — Comcast’s Internet Essentials. The program, which saw its D.C. rollout Tuesday, provides Internet access to families whose children qualify for the National School Lunch Program. The company is offering $10 per month Internet and cheap netbooks to qualifying families.

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