FCC Program Offers Help to Afford Internet Service

Eligible Households Can Start Enrolling Today

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is a temporary program created by the FCC to help individuals and households pay for their Internet Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible households will receive a discount of up to $50 per month towards their broadband service or up to $75 on qualifying tribal lands. There is also a $100 discount available to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

To be eligible, a member of the household must meet one of the following criteria:

• Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
• Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
• Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020 and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

Starting today, you can sign up to receive this benefit by contacting your broadband provider or by visiting https://getemergencybroadband.org/.

Most broadband providers are participating in this program. To view the complete list of providers please click here.