Free Broadband & Internet

Funds are limited!  

The FCC is launched its new Broadband Benefit program on Wednesday, May 12^th!  When you click on the hyperlink in the email below (participating broadband provider), it will take you to a list by state of all the providers who are helping with this program.  The list of providers per state is huge, and many big name providers are participating (Verizon, AT&T, etc.)!

• To apply, eligible households need to go here to enroll: https://getemergencybroadband.org.

• Additionally, please review the eligibility criteria to help your participants figure out their eligibility.  https://getemergencybroadband.org/do-i-qualify/

• • The base qualification is 135% of federal poverty (chart here: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/federal-poverty-level-eligibility-medicare-medicaid-benefits.html).  Applicants have to show proof of income.  We’re looking now to see if SCSEP wages will be considered income for this program’s eligibility determination, and we have reached out to DOL for their thoughts/help on how SCSEP income could be excluded for this program’s eligibility calculations, but participant wages are likely to be includable income for eligibility at this time. 

• • People are able to qualify for the Broadband Program through the children school lunch programs, SNAP, more.  We’ve also reached out to our DOL contacts for their thoughts/help on how SCSEP could be added to the list of automatically qualifying programs. 

Regardless, this program is a great opportunity for many of our participants to get connected.  I hope you are able to share this information with your host agency supervisors and participants to encourage as many as possible to take advantage of this new resource. A lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic is that technological access is now both a key and permanent part of our present and future.