NOTE: We don’t believe the information in this article is accurate. We based the article upon the company’s press release (click here), which made it sound like you could qualify with SNAP or TANF and without a child in school. But what they were apparently trying to say was that SNAP and TANF could be simply used to prove that your child is in the school lunch program (since they two programs provide eligibility for a student to receive school lunch).
Here’s great news for financially-struggling Americans: Cox Communications is going all out to promote broadband adoption for America’s needy.
The cable television giant is expanding eligibility rules to include far more families, pledging to spend $15 million to promote broadband adoption, and extending their commitment to participate in the Connect2Compete broadband adoption coalition for another 24 months.
The Cox low-income internet plan provides a fast 5 Mbps download speed, no contracts, no deposits, no installation fees, no modem rental fees.
Eligibility expanded
Until now, the Connect2Compete program offered $9.95 per month high-speed broadband to low-income families with students who participate in school lunch programs. Now Cox is making millions more families eligible by including those who participate in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The TANF program helps families with children when the parents or guardians are unable to provide for the family’s basic needs.
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities. The Department of Agriculture says, “SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net. The Food and Nutrition Service works with State agencies, nutrition educators, and neighborhood and faith-based organizations to ensure that those eligible for nutrition assistance can make informed decisions about applying for the program and can access benefits.
The Cox Commitment
The Cox commitment to Connect2Compete starts right at the top with President Pat Esser.
“Connecting youth to technology is a core value of Cox Communications, and has guided our community investment initiative for decades. But in today’s digital economy, the Internet is a critical educational resource for America’s youth and their families,” Esser said at the National Press Club. “Together with Connect2Compete, we are making great progress in bringing Internet service to more low-income families in the communities we serve.”
MultiChannel.com reports that, “He said that Cox was focused on access to all customers, and building out gigabit service to schools. But kids can’t take high-speed broadband home in their backpacks, he said and he felt Cox had both the power and responsibility to expand beyond the walls for the school. He praised Connect2Compete partners the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with which Cox has teamed on 70 tech centers, the Urban League and others. He also halied the participation of the FCC and National Cable & Telecommunications Association in the adoption effort.”
Cox has thrown its corporate weight behind Connect2Compete since the program’s infancy. It initiated the first Connect2Compete piloting program in San Diego, California back in 2012, and then offered the program across its entire 18-state service footprint in April 2013. More than 15,000 financially-struggling families are now enrolled in Connect2Compete through the Cox program. The company has also done its best to promote the program by airing approximately 200,000 public service announcements on its various cable television systems.
Rave reviews
Other nonprofit leaders were quick to commend Cox Communications for its new commitment.
“Cox’s program has demonstrated the powerful impact a company can have in its local communities,” said Zach Leverenz, Chief Executive Officer of EveryOneOn, a major nonprofit behind the effort to bridge the digital divide. “The company’s commitment to closing the digital divide and willingness to expand the low-income eligibility programs to encourage more households to take advantage of its offers serves as a model to the industry.”
It seems that no one is surprised to see Cox take this leadership position. As MultiChannel.com notes, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski lauded Esser for his efforts to close the digital divide all the way back in 2012. “[He has] long been a leader on promoting digital opportunity,” the chairman said at the kickoff event in San Diego in May 2012. “Without Pat’s early initiative, Connect2Compete simply wouldn’t have been possible.”
More on Connect2Compete
Connect2Compete (C2C) is a national not-for-profit program, aimed at bringing low-income students and families online by offering $9.95 per month high-speed internet, low-cost computers and free digital literacy training.
Cox is just one of the major cable television companies that participates in the program. Others include Cox, Bright House Networks, MediaCom, Suddenlink, and Comcast’s hugely successful Internet Essentials. For more information on all the plans available for low-income Americans, visit CheapInternet.com.
Source: Cox Press Release
Kelly says
They lied to me. I receive the snap and housing assistance and they said I will get the plan with internet and phone when I signed up. They charge me 72 dollars a month. I called several times to have this fixed after they billed me and they told me it takes effect in the second bill. Liars. I have been paying the 72 a month. I was better off with AT&T because at least for 220 and I had had 3 cell phones, internet, house phone, and direct Tv. Now I just have a phone and crappy internet that hardly works and it is hard to do school work with slow internet that promised high-speed.
Latrice N McGee says
How do I apply for the low-income internet
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are a number of low-income internet programs, Latrice. You can review them all at the following link and then enroll with the one that fits your needs best:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Liban Abdalla says
How do I apply for the low-income internet?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Read the article, Liban. It tells you everything you need to know, including contact info for the service provider.
sl barnes says
there is a COX customer of over thirty years but is now on social security, medicare, snap and needs to reduce the cost of COX bill that is over $175/mo he has not had a contract in years Cox program #1 – for families participating in SNAP, TANF and the National School Lunch Program 9.95
he has phone, tv and internet
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Unfortunately, you cannot move directly from a full-price Cox account to a low-income Cox plan. You must go without Cox service for 90 days before you become eligible. Your alternative is to switch to one of the other low-income plans for those 90 days or to stay with them permanently. Here’s where you can find more info on all those plans:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
nparker says
I can’t see how Cox has gone out of it’s way to offer low cost internet to those of us who
can least afford it, while penalizing those of us who don’t have household kids on free lunch
programs. This makes no sense to me. I’m tired of kids ALWAYS coming first, and only
qualifying while everyone else suffers at the hands of big corporate cable/internet companies.
They aren’t doing the ‘community’ any favors at all, and I’m fed up hearing about how great
COX is extending themselves to the ‘community.’ All they are doing is lining their pockets,
upping our rates all the time to cover these free/low cost programs, paying for those who keep having kids and expect everyone
else to support that lifestyle; at the same time Cox is aiming to better their image. They have
not in my eyes. I’ve seen how they operate. They are not favoring the residents they serve; merely themselves.
I don’t buy into how wonderful COX is/has been.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are other options that do not require you to have kids, N. Here’s a link to all the low-income internet plans. You should pay particular attention to PCs for People and 4GCommunity.
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Courtney says
Hello I’m Trying To Find Your Plan That I Can Use My FoodStamps In Get A Discount On Your Internet in A Cell Phone.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You should visit our other website, FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net, Courtney. Many Lifeline Assistance companies now offer free internet as part of their plans.
carl alice says
We my wife and I don’t have any kids but are low income and need internet.
We are both in power chairs.
We can not afford to pay high internet provider for it. We are on hud home buyers program for low income families.
We don’t get out of the house very much to go anywhere else.
My wife is home bound because we can’t afford a van with a ramp in it so she can go out with me.
Please help all low income families like us to.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are three low-income internet plans that may work for you, Carl, IF you live in an area where they are available. Check out AT&T, PCs for People, and 4GCommunity at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Nancy Cohen says
I am looking for a link on your site to enroll my students who meet the low-income status as refugees. Please inform me of the enrollment process.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We don’t know where you live, Nancy, so we can’t tell you what programs are available for your students. However, you can check out all the plans at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
maurice bush says
what about cable, do you have that at a discount?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Sorry, Maurice, but none of the low-income internet companies offer similar discounts for cable TV.
Vincenza Mariani says
To Cox. I am a disabled woman who is on a low income receiving SSDisability I also get food stamps. I live in Waterbury CT and am also interested in a low priced computer please help…
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We’re not Cox, Vincenza. We’re an independent website that reports on the free government cell phone program, but is not affiliated with any of the free government cell phone companies. You need to contact Cox directly if you want to enroll in its plan. You can find its contact info in the article above.
cindy weaver says
i have a disabled son who has ms would we qualife for for this program we are low income
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
The good news is that there are a number of low-income plans, Cindy. Here’s where you can check them all out to find out which ones you qualify for and which ones are available in your area. Here’s a link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
You should also check out 4GCommunity at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-cost-internet-service
zuhra says
how can apply with snop
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Use the contact info in the article to contact Cox.
Francis says
Hi how do I apply for this internet?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Very simple. Contact Cox. But, of course, you must live in an area served by Cox.
Sarah says
This program isn’t fair…it’s not for all low-income households. Disabled, low-income adults w/out kids don’t qualify. It only works if you have children 17 years old or younger. So disabled, low-income, seniors and people with kids 18+ get screwed.
Joycelyn says
This is NOT a good initiative because it leaves behind low-income people who don’t have children or those whose children are adults. It means low income seniors are not served as well as people who may be temporarily unemployed, or laid off because their industry has downsized or disappeared altogether. Having high speed internet for these persons would help them find employment much sooner. It could give them the ability to transition to other work by having the means to find out about what opportunities available statewide, locally and nationally even internationally. Sorry, but people with children aren’t the only low-income people whose lives matter. Nor, are their low-income children the only low-income with potential, and contributions. Stop leaving out adults who are unemployed and still out here fighting to make it back into productive, contributing citizenry. What is a available for the low-income unemployed without children, the disabled without children or those who were formerly incarcerated and are working to live straight productive lives all of these groups exist on fixed low-incomes and many have no children. Online work might prove useful to shut-ins and anyone in these categories. Often its not feasible for them to travel to state employment centers or public libraries waiting for hours to use outdated computers and equipment that one has to wait forever to use for a limited time. Please try to do better and stop warehousing and writing off adults. Yes, the children are the future but adults are the present.
Shirley Quick says
I’m over 70, disabled and on medicade and SNAP. With $100 a week to pay utilities, buy food, medicine, gas, etc… try budgeting $60 or more a month for Cox Cable TV, $30 for phone, and $30 for internet. We don’t have the money – and internet and TV is the only way we can keep up with our friends and local and national news. Most of us don’t have family to visit or talk to.
jeffrey curle says
I am in a situation at this very moment where i am unable to get to a library to use the internet i currently don’t have a vehicle and public transportation isn’t offered in port allen la…
I am interested in taking online courses and since i do not have a child in school to qualify for free lunches i don’t qualify..please i am participating in the snap program until i can get a better education and a vehicle to get me to work, I do not want to be in this situation my entire life. snap and federal and state assistance was designed to help people get back on they’re feet , not as means of making a living. so please consider making your program available to people like me who want to better themselves but don’t have internet access.
Rhonda Herrington says
I would like to sign up for COX internet
AC says
The press release of 9/14/2014 is still untrue as of today 6/22/2015. I just got off the phone with a Cox representative (Alex) and he said SNAP and TANF people still have to have a child in school. According to Cox they did NOT expand their program or add $15 million to their program. Just a bunch BS to make Cox feel better about their self’s.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We’ve updated this article at the top of the page with an important note that everyone should read.
TB says
Does anyone know when connect2compete will get it right that cox now honors tanf and foodstamps?
James says
C2C made it clear that your child needs to be in a school lunch. We would qualify if we had that available to us. COX representatives have tried to help but have no clue in regards to getting low cost Internet through SNAP. Anyone who has been successful, please help & provide a contact. We live in Woonsocket Rhode Island.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
It looks like Cox needs to talk to its own PR division or company, and get this straightened out. We’re trying to figure it out, but it appears that the company made promises in their press releases that many not be the policy of the company.
If anyone at Cox is reading this, please let us know what your real policy is.
Ladusta Evans says
How do i apply for internet service
michael reynolds says
i have your internet but now low income can you get me the snap rate now. call me 619977****.
TB says
Got through to representative and she said they only accept tanf or snap if you have no way else to prove you have a school aged child. Tanf or snap are not ways to qualify alone. When will they get this right.
Lynn says
How do i get cox internet for low income eligible through SNAP? I’ve called C2C phone number & also have been back to their site a ton of times but nowhere does it offer eligibility through SNAP. The only option it keeps giving me is if i have a child in the school lunch program. Please tell me how i go about enrolling?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Somehow you need to get through to a representative and tell them that Cox themselves said they honor SNAP and TANF:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-communications-closes-digital-divide-with-connect2compete-broadband-adoption-program-271892261.html
ANGELA MENDOZA says
I would like to know when we can have this program in Leesburg, GA.