President Obama late Wednesday was en route to Durant, Okla., where he will announce a new public-private program to expand high-speed broadband services to low-income people, and deliver an economic speech at a local high school.

The pilot program, called ConnectHome, launches in 27 cities and on the Choctaw reservation that Obama was set to visit Wednesday. It targets publicly assisted housing units, and in addition to providing broadband Internet service and accompanying equipment, offers technical training and digital literacy programs.

According to the White House, its initial reach will be 275,000 low-income households and approximately 200,000 children. The program is the latest in Obama's ongoing effort to make broadband accessible in more homes and in all schools.

Despite those efforts, new studies show that an income gap persists.

Although 92 percent of households with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000 have broadband service, only 47 percent of homes with income below $25,000 do, according to the American Library Association. Furthermore, minority households disproportionately make up the 5 million households with school-aged children living without home Internet service.

Susan McVey, Oklahoma Libraries Department director, will join Obama when he makes the announcement.

"In many rural Oklahoma communities like Durant, the library is the only place with high-speed Internet," she said in a statement. "Broadband access is a vital issue for urban, rural and tribal residents alike."

After Durant, Obama heads to Oklahoma City. On Thursday, he will become the first president to visit a prison, where he will make the case for overhauling the criminal justice system.