The $3.2 billion program is part of December’s $900 billion pandemic relief package. The government is increasing spending on broadband as the pandemic left millions of Americans without access and unable to pay for internet access at a time when jobs, school, and healthcare were moving online.
It is not clear how long the money will last, but it is expected to be several months. Tens of millions of people are eligible, although the Federal Communications Commission, which administers the program, did not specify a number.
For example, your household is eligible if you receive food stamps, have a child in the free or reduced-price school lunch program, use Medicaid, or lost income during the pandemic and earned $99,000 for single filers, or $ 198,000 for joint filers, or less.
There are other eligibility requirements as well, check https://getemergencybroadband.org to find out if you qualify.
You can get the discount even if you owe money to your phone or cable company. That’s important because some people have been excluded from the low-cost plans offered by ISPs when they owed their service provider money. More than 800 cell phone and home Internet companies are participating, including AT&T, Charter, Comcast, T-Mobile and Verizon.
People in tribal areas are eligible for up to $75 off their bill. There is also a $ 100 rebate for desktops, laptops, or tablets; in that case, you have to pay between $10 and $50 of the cost of the device yourself and purchase it through your broadband provider.
The Pfizer company is seeking full FDA approval for its vaccine rather than emergency use authorization.
The discount could be applied to the entire bill for a home, or you can use it to switch to a more expensive offer and your bill is partially covered.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is a stronger, albeit temporary, program to help people pay for Internet more than Lifeline, the FCC’s other affordability program, which takes just $9.25 a month from phone or Internet bills. . A household can use the Lifeline and EBB programs.
The Biden administration has proposed $100 billion to connect Americans, and even before that, billions of dollars are going to improve Internet access.
The FCC on Tuesday approved a $7.2 billion program for schools and libraries to connect students at home. The Treasury Department is also creating a $ 10 billion fund to improve Internet connectivity. The money for both came from the $1.9 billion March pandemic aid package.
Hundreds of billions more in general funds have also been sent to states that could be spent on broadband access.