Internet Essentials: Another twist on low-cost broadband service for low-income Americans
Comcast, the cable TV giant, is also getting into the low-cost internet business with a program called Internet Essentials. This is very good news. If you live in areas of the country served by Comcast and you qualify, you can now get Internet Essentials for just $9.95 per month instead of the $40–60 the company had charged in the past for its lowest cost basic plan.
Consider this important statistic: Only 45% of families earning under $30,000 currently have broadband service in their homes. This puts those parents and their children at a huge disadvantage when it comes to finding and applying for jobs, communicating with doctors, completing homework and other everyday tasks that more affluent families take for granted.
Internet Essentials is very similar to the Connect To Compete program. They both cost just $9.95 a month and deliver a blazing fast 1.5Mbps download speed. Qualifying families will even be able to purchase a computer for only $149.99. There are no activation fees and no additional equipment fees.
You also get the world famous Norton Security Suite which gives you professional online security. It’s a $160 value, but you get it absolutely free.
And finally, Internet Essentials gives you free parental control features to help protect your kids whether they’re doing their schoolwork or just playing on the internet.
How to qualify for Internet Essentials
To qualify for Internet Essentials and get a low-cost computer and high-speed internet access for just $9.95 per month, a family must have at least one child who receives free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). If your child qualifies for the free lunch program but doesn’t yet participate, you’ll need to sign up.
In addition, you cannot have been a Comcast internet subscriber in the last 90 days and you cannot have any overdue Comcast bills or unreturned equipment.
Of course, you have to be in an area served by Comcast, but you’ve got a good chance, since Internet Essentials will be available in more than 4,000 school districts in 39 states plus the District of Columbia.
The states we show as having Comcast Cable available are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia (DC). If you don’t see your state on the list, you should still check with Comcast in case they’ve added service in a state since we wrote this.
Once enrolled, a customer will be able to continue receiving Internet Essentials service for at the same low price as long as at least one child in their household continues to receive free lunches under the National School Lunch Program.
While Comcast hasn’t joined other cable companies in Connect To Compete program that brings low cost internet service to America’s neediest citizens, the details of the two programs are virtually identical.
Internet Essentials originated when Comcast acquired NBC. In order to win FCC approval, Comcast agreed to “increase broadband deployment in low income households” for three years.
Let’s hope the program ends up running a lot longer than that.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
would like to register for your program
I would like to not pay for your program, but I don’t seem to have that option.
Not everything is free, mojo.
I am looking for a cheap internet,I am on a very low budget income SS. I really
need something I can afford. I am not computer savy, I am 79 so I don’t need all
the extras I just need it to work , LIke if I want to send an e-mail I know is going
through. I have been with ATT-U verse and I have never rec. an e-mail under the
att,net. internet I keep complainng but no results is time to look for something I can
afford. I need to get Att-u verse out of my pocket for internet and phone. I can’t
afford it on SS. Please reply ASAP. Thank You
I don’t have children, but I do need a cheap internet and phone. What I have now
is really wipeing me out on Social Security income Please reply.
Check out the Internet Basics plan. You don’t need a child on school lunch for that one.
hi id like to get this and i get free lunches at my skool and i wanna no how long this will last IM 12
My son attends a free public charter school that does not have a standard kitchen (it’s only a “warming kitchen”) so therefore no state lunch program. We are on TANF and Medicaid and waiting for unemployment but live in the Comcast service area and unfortunately a high cost of living area..Key West. Is having a child on the free school lunch program the only consideration to apply for the Internet Essentials program? Thank you for your time.
i live in yonkers, new york and want to know if this or any other cheap internet service is available in my area zip code 10704…thanks
What about people who are caretakers for elderly relatives who’s income or employment has been effected. The unifying theme for these programs requires that you have children. But there are a significant amount of americans who are careing for elderly/or disabled individuals which can be every bit as time consuming and financially exhaustive as those with children. Not to mention the endless research required to try to find programs that are specific to their retirement status, health problems, and social programs that are income sensitive. Alot of women of a specific generation trusted that the government would always protect them and now we find elderly women with not so supportive retirement alternatives who don’t qualify for social security or social programs because of technicalities. Where is there help for people in my situation? My aunt is eternally at the threshold according to beaurocrats but not beyond it enough to keep her own head above the water, and not below it enough to qualify for anything. The middle is a crappy place to be. sorry for the downer guys, just need to vent some frustration.
I’m curious– we don’t qualify for free lunches but reduced lunches. Does that still qualify us for Comcast’s internet essentials program?
No, Lauren, that does not count.
I am a 65 year old man living on 920.00 per month I think I aught to get the 9dollar deal.
Other companies are offering the 9deollar deal. but I’d rather stay with you.Drop me a low income deal.
The obvious or underlying theme in the responses is the frustration with the child-on-school-lunch requirement. WHY in the world would the companies have a requirement so specific that most low-income Americans can’t qualify? Just because you don’t have children doesn’t mean you’re not just as desperate for help and just as determined to better yourself. In fact, people on school lunch programs are already taking advantage of a safety net, but they’re not necessarily the poorest. The poorest now seem to be people in their 50s and beyond.
Guess I’ll try to look elsewhere — wherever that is.
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