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Interconnection: cheap internet for Washington low-income residents
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We’ve written many articles about the big, national cheap internet programs like Comcast’s Internet Essentials and CenturyLink’s Internet Basics, but now there’s a new, independent program that looks very interesting in the state of Washington. Well, to be absolutely accurate, it’s not new. We’ve actually mentioned it briefly in other articles, but now Interconnection deserves an article of its own.
Interconnection now offers needy Washingtonians a variety of low-priced services: High speed mobile internet for just $8 per month or internet service only for $10 per month, plus a laptop computer for just $149.
Who’s eligible? Low income residents of Evergreen State plus those who receive benefits from government aid programs. To be more specific, you must be able to present proof that your income falls below the federal poverty guidelines. In Washington state that means you can show you make less than $1,916 per month. Alternately, you can show proof that you receive government benefits (food stamps, SSI, Medicaid, TANF, State Family Assistance, free or discounted school lunches, or a number of other programs).
The biggest differences between this plan and bigger programs such as Internet Basics and Internet Essentials program, is that Interconnection Internet is totally mobile. (1) The other plans require a permanent home address with phone or cable lines, but Interconnection Internet doesn’t. (2) You can participate in Interconnection Internet even if you don’t receive benefits from any state or federal government aid programs. (3) Since the program is wifi-based, you don’t need a permanent home address to participate. That means that the homeless are eligible, too. (4) Instead of filling out paper applications, you apply in person.
Now let’s get to the biggest difference between the programs: Interconnection does not offer the $9.95 monthly payment plans offered by the other organizations. So instead of paying $9.95 per month for internet service, Interconnection Internet requires you to pay for one year of service in advance. You’ll be required to pay $99 if you also buy that $149 laptop computer we referred to earlier, or $120 total if you don’t purchase the computer.
There are other up-front charges, too, because the Interconnection Internet plan also requires you to purchase a modem up-front. The hub modem, which plugs into any electrical outlet and can connect to multiple devices at the same time, will set you back $36. The mobile USB laptop modem, which plug into any computer’s USB port, goes for $43. The wireless mobile hotspot, which is small enough to fit in your pocket and can connect multiple devices simultaneously, is priced at $76.
In other words, in the most expensive scenario, you could purchase one year of service ($99), a laptop ($149) and the wireless mobile hotspot ($76), you would be required to pre-pay $324.
Contact Information
Interconnection: Website: interconnection.org Phone: 206-633-1517 Address: 415 Stone Way N, Seattle, WA
Admittedly, that’s costly for anyone who qualifies because they fall below the federal poverty guidelines, but you get a lot for your money. And there’s no contract and no credit check.
As we said earlier, you must apply for the program in person. Where? At Interconnection’s retail store at 3415 Stone Way N in Seattle.
I bought a hotspot Coolpad_Surf 4291 at (ADDRESS DELETED0 for two year ago. Yesterday It disconnected to any computer, what is a problem, Can you give me your advice Thank you Ann Nguyen
I am trying to find an inexpensive internet service for my son, who lives in a group home and is disabled. I am retired and cannot afford to pay for both of us. He is in a room alone and his internet today went up to 88.00 per month. He receives only 70.00 per month after payment to the group home,Please advise
You’ll need to go through the list of cities and states where each plan is available, then contact the customer service at your provider who meets your son’s needs best. Good luck, Judith. Hope you find a plan that works out for your son.
Sounds like a good program , and was disappointed by the ending. Washington is not in Seattle, so reading the entire article only to be let down at the end was not cool!
Wow. I can’t believe how ungrateful so many of these people leaving such angry and rude comments are. This posting is purely informational. Yet so many here think they should be handed, what was a luxury items a few years ago, almost free service on a gold, not silver, platter.
Kindness and gratitude goes a lot further than bitching and demanding something for free. I get the whole low income issue. I also know the mounds of paperwork, call here, call there, mail this, mail that routine. Nobody likes jumping though hoops and running in circles. However, I’m happy all the checks are in place to weed out the free loaders. Otherwise those of us in need won’t be blessed with the help we get. If you think we have it bad, take a look at international news. We have it good despite our disabilities and hardships.
So please, show some gratitude and stop expecting, demanding, and bitching because one program doesn’t fit your “needs”, desires, or the process is not convenient for you. Just remember we don’t “need” internet service. Yes, children need access. Working adult required to have access should check with their employer. They will reimburse you for service or provide service unless noted.
Most of us already have service on our phones to handle any needs. If I had unlimited service I could stream to my TV.
My mom is on social security and food stamps. She lives in a rural community in Eastern Washington. With the COVID-19 outbreak we are now finding she is cut off from reaching out to services because she does not have a computer or internet. I live in Texas, so it’s hard for me to help her. Is there any services for the elderly in rural Eastern Washington, or is help only reserved for those that are based in Seattle?
If you have to apply in person how can we apply in person when we live four hours from Seattle I’m beginning to think that it’s just a joke in this whole state there is no Internet for low income disabled seniors living in Housing so we all have to go without the lifeline phone is a piece of shit that we have breaks up overheats turns off never goes online goes up line I’m looking for a low cheap Internet plan I can afford only make $1000 a month and I live in housing through the state
Have you checked all the low-income plans to see if there’s one that fits your needs better? Here’s where you can check out all the plans offered in your state:
Very kind of you, Thomas, but we can’t answer your question because we are not Interconnection. You need to contact that organization directly using the contact info we provide in the article above.
I would like to get your modum…I qualify on less then 1,916 per month…what papers do I bring to you for proff?…do I need to make an appointment to some in on a Saturday?…Thank you Elvira Purvis
We are not Interconnection, Elvira. This is an independent informational website. Check out the article above to find contact info for the company. Give its customer service team a call and you can get your questions answered. Good luck.
Wow, I’ve seen another similar plan that was a cheaper start-up. It beats this deal by about half. You buy the mobile hotspot for $75 & pay about $120 for a 1 yr period of internet service. So, very similar. I “MUST” say, that for a low income, single father of 2 young boys ages 9 & 11, this is a good deal.
For anyone considering this service, keep in mind that your mileage will vary. InterConnection goes through MobileCitizen, which goes through Sprint. It very much depends on your location and which tower you’re connected to, signal strength, etc.
With that said (and I don’t know how the administrators feel about links in comments), this is my speed test: **************
For those that aren’t very technical and don’t quite understand what this means, 23mbit down is enough for 4k on youtube (barely), or multiple 1080p streams. 12mbit up is how fast you can send data from your device to the internet, so for uploading youtube videos, posting on facebook, etc.. 12mbit is quite good.
My “latency” (how long it takes to get from point A to point B and back) is usually around 50ms. This is slightly slower than most wired connections, but absolutely acceptable for most uses. I even play games on it, and it’s never given me problems.
However, I’m in the boonies, and I’m almost certain there is nobody else using the tower for heavy data use other than myself. Those numbers you see? That’s about the max of what LTE can offer on the band my modem connects to, and that’s shared amongst everyone (so the fact that I’m getting max speeds makes me almost certain nobody else is using data on our tower).
Other variables include your band. Sprint offers 3 bands: band 25, 26 and 41. 25 is what I’m on, 26 is the same size and bandwidth, but with a larger footprint (more potential people sharing your connection, potentially impacting your speed), and band 41 is a much much much much larger bandwidth pipe, but doesn’t go out nearly as far. If you’re in an area where you can get band 41, you’re likely to get “wired” speeds upwards 100mbit, which is enough for multiple 4k streams and all sorts of stuff. Don’t count on it. Even if your tower has been upgraded, you may be too far out to get it (it has a hard time penetrating buildings too, so consider putting your modem on a window sill)
If you use a lot of data, your connection isn’t “throttled”, but you’re “deprioritized”, which means that anyone else requesting data will get priority over you. This is logical and fair, in my opinion, and ultimately it’s up to you as to how you’ll use your data.
I hope this has been helpful for anyone looking into this provider.
That’s all very helpful info, Soulnull, but you were correct when you stated that we might not like reader-added links in the comments. You link may well have been legit, but we don’t have the time nor resources to check out all the links our readers leave and we won’t take the risk of running into links that may cause problems for our readers.
I go through InterConnection here in Ohio via the ConnectAll program. Available at ConnectAll.org – It’s not just WA anymore. I get billed from InterConnection, and it costs the same, but it’s nationwide. Is $12 a month, with a little over $100 to start. Has been rock solid for me since getting it.
Don’t forget to add another 100.00 to drive to Seattle from Spokane, for a total of 446.00. Ya, I can really come up with that out of the 800.00 I get. This offer is a joke. I will also say these company’s going by SSI & not Social Security are flat stupid. Poverty level in Wash. is 1,900.00 89% of the people on Social Security get below 1600.00, That means there are 89% seniors that get below poverty level income. SSI does not stand fro SOCIAL SECURITY INSURANCE. It stands for SOCIAL SECURITY IMPLEMENT ! You get that from the state, which the federal government gives to the state when Social Security turns you down because you are not disabled enough ( meaning they think you can work). When SSI recipients turn 65 they automatically go on to SOCIAL SECURITY! SSDI, mean Social Security Disability Insurance. means.. Social Security found you permanently disabled & cannot return to work. Now tell me why someone on SSDI is not eligible for these programs but SSI people are.?
We cannot explain it, Handone. But check out ALL the low-income internet plans. You may find one with eligibility requirements that are easier to meet. Here’s an easy link:
I applied for service via ConnectAll (which is an InterConnection affiliate of some sort) with only SSDI and they approved me (and the starting cost is only a little over $100 as well). If you were unsuccessful, all I can recommend is to try again. I submitted my SSDI approval letter along with my “history of payments” or whatever it is and within a few hours I received an email saying I was approved for their service. Sometimes you gotta be persistent with these types of services. I got lucky the first time, but obviously plenty of people don’t. Good luck!
Great up talk. I was informed in 1980, at age 11, that I needed both TOTAL hip replacements done. Being that young it didn’t happen. I was always changing jobs in a window between 6mo to 2.5yrs – Roughly. I never really had any good insurance cause of job history, so nothing for pain thru the years. In 02/05 I started a job that kicked my ass every single day. 07/05 I’d had enough & changed jobs, Again. OK, now I have insurance. I found a great doctor that listened to me, yes – not a TYPO, he was great. I had a total Right hip replacement 09/07, took almost 3mo off & was forced back before my time. I had a new boss that ran my ass off for something I didn’t do. I applied for SSDI in ’07 to get the ball rolling. I had an attorney each time. It took me 10yrs to get my needed Disability, man – if only I would’ve been from another country I’d have gotten it faster. To make that worse, when I said that to the agent, she laughed & said I was right. I, past due, need both hips done again. I’ve NEVER had 24 hrs painfree on a new hip so they looked into my back & figured that in about ’82 I fractured my low back, L-5/S-1 & never knew it. I Never had back pain in my manual labor history & I was on job sites starting prior to 5yrs of age. Here comes a back surgery, what a Fuck*ng mistake. He didn’t even address all the areas commented on in the MRI report. I’m Hurtin, bad from neck to toes. 10 yrs I Faught, Faught & faught for 10 yrs just to make a low monthly income. So, please – try again. I’m looking too cause my current internet provider is taking $90 a month & I need it with 2 young boys & wanting to homeschool so bad. Hey, All of you, Good luck, Fight, Hope, just do what you need. Jonesy
I have a plan via their service, and I use about 500gb a month. We stream netflix, youtube, hulu, directv on demand and have 3 security cameras installed. Never had an issue with them so far.
Please update this: Interconnection’s “Connect All” program now says you need $239 to get started. This covers the $99 ZTE Warp Connect hotspot + $140 for one year of service (via Sprint). It’s actually a Mobile Citizen program offered through Interconnection.
You can check your coverage (for phone & data service separately) with the link they provide.
And, yes, it is a little ridiculous to expect low income people to have that kind of money to shell out all at once. (But some of us keep an “emergency fund” and can do it.)
I AGREE with what savvy shopper has to say about how RIDICULOUS they expected us to shell out all money at once if we are on fixed income. We can’t afford everything, Jeez.
Ann Nguyen says
I bought a hotspot Coolpad_Surf 4291
at (ADDRESS DELETED0 for two year ago.
Yesterday It disconnected to any computer, what is a problem, Can you give me your advice
Thank you
Ann Nguyen
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Sorry, Ann, but we’re in Texas and you’re wherever you are and there’s no way for us to figure out what the problem is.
Judith a Williams says
I am trying to find an inexpensive internet service for my son, who lives in a group home and is disabled. I am retired and cannot afford to pay for both of us. He is in a room alone and his internet today went up to 88.00 per month. He receives only 70.00 per month after payment to the group home,Please advise
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Check out the list of all the service providers in your state here:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/states
You’ll need to go through the list of cities and states where each plan is available, then contact the customer service at your provider who meets your son’s needs best. Good luck, Judith. Hope you find a plan that works out for your son.
Shawn says
Sounds like a good program , and was disappointed by the ending. Washington is not in Seattle, so reading the entire article only to be let down at the end was not cool!
JC says
Wow. I can’t believe how ungrateful so many of these people leaving such angry and rude comments are. This posting is purely informational. Yet so many here think they should be handed, what was a luxury items a few years ago, almost free service on a gold, not silver, platter.
Kindness and gratitude goes a lot further than bitching and demanding something for free. I get the whole low income issue. I also know the mounds of paperwork, call here, call there, mail this, mail that routine. Nobody likes jumping though hoops and running in circles. However, I’m happy all the checks are in place to weed out the free loaders. Otherwise those of us in need won’t be blessed with the help we get. If you think we have it bad, take a look at international news. We have it good despite our disabilities and hardships.
So please, show some gratitude and stop expecting, demanding, and bitching because one program doesn’t fit your “needs”, desires, or the process is not convenient for you. Just remember we don’t “need” internet service. Yes, children need access. Working adult required to have access should check with their employer. They will reimburse you for service or provide service unless noted.
Most of us already have service on our phones to handle any needs. If I had unlimited service I could stream to my TV.
Enough being rude and ungrateful. Please.
Cheers!
Dee says
Amen!
Perla says
Need also rental housing help adap
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We can’t help you with rental housing, Perla. Our expertise can be found in the name of this website: CheapInternet.com
Aimee Farris says
My mom is on social security and food stamps. She lives in a rural community in Eastern Washington. With the COVID-19 outbreak we are now finding she is cut off from reaching out to services because she does not have a computer or internet. I live in Texas, so it’s hard for me to help her. Is there any services for the elderly in rural Eastern Washington, or is help only reserved for those that are based in Seattle?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Visit EveryoneOn.org and plug in her zip code. It will tell you exactly what’s available in her area.
Susan says
If you have to apply in person how can we apply in person when we live four hours from Seattle I’m beginning to think that it’s just a joke in this whole state there is no Internet for low income disabled seniors living in Housing so we all have to go without the lifeline phone is a piece of shit that we have breaks up overheats turns off never goes online goes up line I’m looking for a low cheap Internet plan I can afford only make $1000 a month and I live in housing through the state
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Have you checked all the low-income plans to see if there’s one that fits your needs better? Here’s where you can check out all the plans offered in your state:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/states
Thomas Clardy says
Can I volunteer to recycle and repair computers
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Very kind of you, Thomas, but we can’t answer your question because we are not Interconnection. You need to contact that organization directly using the contact info we provide in the article above.
Elvira Purvis says
I would like to get your modum…I qualify on less then 1,916 per month…what papers do I bring to you for proff?…do I need to make an appointment to some in on a Saturday?…Thank you Elvira Purvis
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We are not Interconnection, Elvira. This is an independent informational website. Check out the article above to find contact info for the company. Give its customer service team a call and you can get your questions answered. Good luck.
Steven Nightingale says
Interested but have to wait to get set-up and I’ll be in touch.
Carole Ferguson says
I live in zip code 98903..where do i go to apply
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You can visit EveryoneOn.org and plus in your zip code. It will tell you all the plans available in your area.
Jonesy says
Wow, I’ve seen another similar plan that was a cheaper start-up. It beats this deal by about half. You buy the mobile hotspot for $75 & pay about $120 for a 1 yr period of internet service. So, very similar. I “MUST” say, that for a low income, single father of 2 young boys ages 9 & 11, this is a good deal.
Thanks for your time,
Jonesy
Vancouver, 98684
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Well, what the heck, Jonesy. Tell us what that similar plan is so we can write about it.
soulnull says
For anyone considering this service, keep in mind that your mileage will vary. InterConnection goes through MobileCitizen, which goes through Sprint. It very much depends on your location and which tower you’re connected to, signal strength, etc.
With that said (and I don’t know how the administrators feel about links in comments), this is my speed test: **************
For those that aren’t very technical and don’t quite understand what this means, 23mbit down is enough for 4k on youtube (barely), or multiple 1080p streams. 12mbit up is how fast you can send data from your device to the internet, so for uploading youtube videos, posting on facebook, etc.. 12mbit is quite good.
My “latency” (how long it takes to get from point A to point B and back) is usually around 50ms. This is slightly slower than most wired connections, but absolutely acceptable for most uses. I even play games on it, and it’s never given me problems.
However, I’m in the boonies, and I’m almost certain there is nobody else using the tower for heavy data use other than myself. Those numbers you see? That’s about the max of what LTE can offer on the band my modem connects to, and that’s shared amongst everyone (so the fact that I’m getting max speeds makes me almost certain nobody else is using data on our tower).
Other variables include your band. Sprint offers 3 bands: band 25, 26 and 41. 25 is what I’m on, 26 is the same size and bandwidth, but with a larger footprint (more potential people sharing your connection, potentially impacting your speed), and band 41 is a much much much much larger bandwidth pipe, but doesn’t go out nearly as far. If you’re in an area where you can get band 41, you’re likely to get “wired” speeds upwards 100mbit, which is enough for multiple 4k streams and all sorts of stuff. Don’t count on it. Even if your tower has been upgraded, you may be too far out to get it (it has a hard time penetrating buildings too, so consider putting your modem on a window sill)
If you use a lot of data, your connection isn’t “throttled”, but you’re “deprioritized”, which means that anyone else requesting data will get priority over you. This is logical and fair, in my opinion, and ultimately it’s up to you as to how you’ll use your data.
I hope this has been helpful for anyone looking into this provider.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
That’s all very helpful info, Soulnull, but you were correct when you stated that we might not like reader-added links in the comments. You link may well have been legit, but we don’t have the time nor resources to check out all the links our readers leave and we won’t take the risk of running into links that may cause problems for our readers.
Jonesy says
Ya know what? I hate the technical computer crap. I actually did pretty good reading ( & finishing to the end ) your post.
Thanks for not preaching technical,
Jonesy
Vancouver, 98684
soulnull says
I go through InterConnection here in Ohio via the ConnectAll program. Available at ConnectAll.org – It’s not just WA anymore. I get billed from InterConnection, and it costs the same, but it’s nationwide. Is $12 a month, with a little over $100 to start. Has been rock solid for me since getting it.
Handone says
Don’t forget to add another 100.00 to drive to Seattle from Spokane, for a total of 446.00. Ya, I can really come up with that out of the 800.00 I get.
This offer is a joke. I will also say these company’s going by SSI & not Social Security are flat stupid.
Poverty level in Wash. is 1,900.00 89% of the people on Social Security get below 1600.00, That means there are 89% seniors that get below poverty level income. SSI does not stand fro SOCIAL SECURITY INSURANCE. It stands for SOCIAL SECURITY IMPLEMENT !
You get that from the state, which the federal government gives to the state when Social Security turns you down because you are not disabled enough ( meaning they think you can work). When SSI recipients turn 65 they automatically go on to SOCIAL SECURITY!
SSDI, mean Social Security Disability Insurance. means.. Social Security found you permanently disabled & cannot return to work. Now tell me why someone on SSDI is not eligible for these programs but SSI people are.?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We cannot explain it, Handone. But check out ALL the low-income internet plans. You may find one with eligibility requirements that are easier to meet. Here’s an easy link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
soulnull says
I applied for service via ConnectAll (which is an InterConnection affiliate of some sort) with only SSDI and they approved me (and the starting cost is only a little over $100 as well). If you were unsuccessful, all I can recommend is to try again. I submitted my SSDI approval letter along with my “history of payments” or whatever it is and within a few hours I received an email saying I was approved for their service. Sometimes you gotta be persistent with these types of services. I got lucky the first time, but obviously plenty of people don’t. Good luck!
Jonesy says
Great up talk. I was informed in 1980, at age 11, that I needed both TOTAL hip replacements done. Being that young it didn’t happen. I was always changing jobs in a window between 6mo to 2.5yrs – Roughly. I never really had any good insurance cause of job history, so nothing for pain thru the years. In 02/05 I started a job that kicked my ass every single day. 07/05 I’d had enough & changed jobs, Again. OK, now I have insurance. I found a great doctor that listened to me, yes – not a TYPO, he was great. I had a total Right hip replacement 09/07, took almost 3mo off & was forced back before my time. I had a new boss that ran my ass off for something I didn’t do. I applied for SSDI in ’07 to get the ball rolling. I had an attorney each time. It took me 10yrs to get my needed Disability, man – if only I would’ve been from another country I’d have gotten it faster. To make that worse, when I said that to the agent, she laughed & said I was right. I, past due, need both hips done again. I’ve NEVER had 24 hrs painfree on a new hip so they looked into my back & figured that in about ’82 I fractured my low back, L-5/S-1 & never knew it. I Never had back pain in my manual labor history & I was on job sites starting prior to 5yrs of age. Here comes a back surgery, what a Fuck*ng mistake. He didn’t even address all the areas commented on in the MRI report. I’m Hurtin, bad from neck to toes. 10 yrs I Faught, Faught & faught for 10 yrs just to make a low monthly income. So, please – try again. I’m looking too cause my current internet provider is taking $90 a month & I need it with 2 young boys & wanting to homeschool so bad. Hey, All of you, Good luck, Fight, Hope, just do what you need. Jonesy
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Words to live by, Jonesy.
Chuck Tin says
Interconnection.org, today, doesn’t mention anything about providing low-cost internet service to low-income folks.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
The service is available to everyone, Chuck, but the prices are equivalent to the lowest of the low-income service providers.
Karen Krol says
Can i watch netflix wirh this service? How do i apply? Thank you
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Contact customer service at the phone number listed in the article, Karen.
soulnull says
Karen,
I have a plan via their service, and I use about 500gb a month. We stream netflix, youtube, hulu, directv on demand and have 3 security cameras installed. Never had an issue with them so far.
Jonesy says
Holy crap. Good deal.
Jonesy
Savvy Shopper says
Please update this: Interconnection’s “Connect All” program now says you need $239 to get started. This covers the $99 ZTE Warp Connect hotspot + $140 for one year of service (via Sprint). It’s actually a Mobile Citizen program offered through Interconnection.
You can check your coverage (for phone & data service separately) with the link they provide.
And, yes, it is a little ridiculous to expect low income people to have that kind of money to shell out all at once. (But some of us keep an “emergency fund” and can do it.)
David Galyean says
I AGREE with what savvy shopper has to say about how RIDICULOUS they expected us to shell out all money at once if we are on fixed income. We can’t afford everything, Jeez.
David