CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched the Emergency Broadband Benefit program which provides a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households.
Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.
Who Is Eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program?
A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one of the criteria below:
- 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.
For local families who use Charter (Spectrum), the company is offering a variety of broadband options under the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, and all Spectrum Internet plans available have no modem fees, data caps, or contracts and include free self-installation.
Interested consumers who are not currently Spectrum customers should visit www.spectrum.com/getqualified or call 1-855-662-9946. Current Spectrum customers can visit www.spectrum.net/broadbandbenefit to learn more. To find out more about the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.