The New York Times reported Tuesday that cable and Internet provider Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) will indefinitely extend its program that offers low-cost broadband service and computers to poor families, and that it will provide $1 million in neighborhood grants to support digital literacy.

As part of its 2011 takeover of NBC Universal, Comcast agreed to a three-year commitment to its Internet Essentials program, which offers $9.95 a month broadband service in poor neighborhoods and offers Internet-ready computers to eligible families for $150. Some 300,000 families have signed up for home Internet service, and more than 23,000 of the computers have been purchased.

In addition, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that Comcast has begun to turn hundreds of thousands of Chicago-area homes it open Wi-Fi hot spots. The initiative rolls out during the next several months, and it uses already existing Comcast equipment to send a Wi-Fi signal that is separate from the subscriber’s signal. The open Wi-Fi signal does not affect the speed or the privacy of the homeowner’s access.

Ever since wireless operators began charging for data consumption, demand for inexpensive or free Wi-Fi access as grown huge. Comcast began its Wi-Fi initiative in its home city of Philadelphia more than three years ago, and it may be on its way to creating a national Wi-Fi network.

Meanwhile, Comcast will soon ask federal regulators to approve its proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC). If it gets the OK, Comcast would have access to about one-third of all cable and Internet subscribers nationwide. In the New York Times article, a spokesperson denied that Comcast was attempting to gain political allies to help it close the deal.

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