Comcast, the cable TV giant, is the biggest name in the low-cost internet business with a program called Internet Essentials. 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 (after teaser promotions) the company charges for its lowest cost basic plan. As of August 2019, more than four million low-income Americans now are online thanks to the wonderful program.
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 costs just $9.95 a month and delivers a blazing fast 15 Mbps download speed. Qualifying families will even be able to purchase a computer for only $149.99. There is required. No credit check. No installation fees. No activation fees. And, believe it or not, there are no additional equipment fees, and your internet now comes with a wireless router.
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
Let’s give Comcast some credit here — the company has consistently opened Internet Essentials to more and more low-income Americans.
Eligibility for the program was once restricted to people with at least one child who qualified for the National School Lunch Program, but that restriction is now a thing of the past and millions more are now eligible including:
- People with disabilities
- Seniors on Medicaid
- All low-income adults (defined as 38% above the poverty line in your area)
If math is not your strong suit and you don’t know which side of the 38% you fall on, you can also qualify if you participate in any of these Federal assistance programs:
- The National School Lunch Program (free and reduced-price school lunch)
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/food stamps)
- HUD housing assistance and Section 8
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare)
- Supplemental Security Income (Social Security)
- Head Start or Early Head Start
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Tribal assistance (including TTANF, FDPIR, etc)
- WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)
- VA pension (Yea, vets!)
A couple restrictions
Comcast has proven itself to be pretty generous with the Internet Essentials program, but there are three reasons the company might deny service to those who are otherwise eligible:
- You cannot have been a Comcast internet subscriber in the last 90 days. If you want to get Internet Essentials, you are going to need to cancel (if you contract allows) your service and call Internet Essentials to sign up after three months.
- You cannot have a Comcast bills that is over 12 months past due. However, if you have an overdue bill from just within the last 12 months, Comcast has recently changed the rules and will accept you as an Internet
Essentials customer, provided you agree to the payment plan they work up to pay off the late bills.
You cannot have any unreturned equipment. - Of course, you have to be in an area served by Comcast, but you’ve got a good chance, since Internet Essentials is 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, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, 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.
Contact Information
Internet Essentials:
Website: www.internetessentials.com
In Spanish: www.internetessentials.com/es/
Phone: 855-846-8376
Comcast profile:
Profile Page: Comcast Cable
Once enrolled, a customer will be able to continue receiving Internet Essentials service at the same low price as long as at least one child in their household continues to qualify for a reduced or free lunch under the National School Lunch Program.
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. In 2014 they said they would like to run the program “indefinitely.”
Let’s hope they keep to that plan.
If you aren’t able to get Internet Essentials in your area, or if you have trouble qualifying, take a look at our exhaustive list of low-income internet providers to find one that might be able to help you. And keep up with the latest developments on our news and blog page.
Cities and Towns with Internet Essentials
This is not an exhaustive list but shows most of the cities and towns where Comcast Internet Essentials is available.
Alabama: Bessemer, Birmingham, Dothan, Florence, Gadsden, Huntsville, Madison, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Arkansas: Little Rock, North Little Rock, Arizona: Tucson, AZ
Arkansas: Little Rock, North Little Rock
Arizona: Tucson
California: Alameda, Antioch, Berkeley, Carmichael, Chico, Citrus Heights, Clovis, Concord, Costa Mesa, Cupertino, Daly City, Davis, Elk Grove, Fairfield, Folsom, Fremont, Fresno, Hanford, Hayward, Livermore, Lodi, Los Angeles, Madera, Manteca, Merced, Milpitas, Modesto, Mountain View, Napa, Novato, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Pittsburgh, Pleasanton, Porterville, Rancho Cordova, Redwood City, Richmond, Roseville, Sacramento, Salinas, San Francisco, San José, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Pablo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, South San Francisco, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Tracy, Tulare, Turlock, Union City, Vacaville, Vallejo, Visalia, Walnut Creek, Watsonville, Woodland, Yuba City
Colorado: Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Denver, Englewood, Fort Collins, Greeley, Littleton, Longmont, Loveland, Parker, Pueblo
Connecticut: Bristol, Danbury, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Waterbury, West Hartford
Delaware: Dover, New Castle, Newark, Wilmington
Florida: Apopka, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Bradenton, Brandon, Cape Coral, Clearwater, Clermont, Deland, Delray Beach, Deltona, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Hialeah, Hollywood, Homestead, Jacksonville, Jupiter, Kissimmee, Lake City, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Lehigh Acres, Miami, Miami Beach, Naples, North Port, Ocala, Opa Locka, Orange Park, Orlando, Palm Bay, Palm Beach Gardens, Panama City, Plant City, Pompano Beach, Port Charlotte, Port Saint Lucie, Punta Gorda, Riverview, Saint Augustine, Saint Cloud, Sanford, Sarasota, Stuart, Tallahassee, Tampa, Valrico, Venice, Vero Beach, West Palm Beach, Winter Haven, Winter Park
Georgia: Acworth, Alpharetta, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Brunswick, Buford, Canton, Carrollton, Cartersville, Conyers, Covington, Cumming, Dallas, Dalton, Decatur, Douglasville, Duluth, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Griffin, Jonesboro, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Lithonia, Loganville, Marietta, Mcdonough, Newnan, Norcross, Powder Springs, Riverdale, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Snellville, Stockbridge, Stone Mountain, Suwanee, Woodstock
Illinois: Arlington Heights, Aurora, Berwyn, Bloomington, Bolingbrook, Champaign, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Cicero, Crystal Lake, Decatur, Des Plaines, Elgin, Evanston, Joliet, Naperville, Orland Park, Palatine, Peoria, Plainfield, Rockford, Round Lake, Schaumburg, Skokie, Springfield, Tinley Park, Waukegan, Wheaton
Indiana: Anderson, Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Crown Point, Elkhart, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Gary, Greenwood, Hammond, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie, Noblesville, South Bend, Valparaiso, West Lafayette
Kansas: Olathe, Overland Park
Kentucky: Bowling Green, Paducah
Louisiana: Bossier City, Houma, Monroe, Shreveport
Maine: Portland
Massachusetts: Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Dorchester, Fall River, Framingham, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Quincy, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham
Michigan: Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Canton, Clinton Township, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, East Lansing, Farmington, Flint, Grand Rapids, Holland, Howell, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Livonia, Macomb, Muskegon, Pontiac, Rochester, Saint Clair Shores, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Taylor, Troy, Utica, Warren, Waterford, West Bloomfield, Westland, Ypsilanti
Minnesota: Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, Osseo, Saint Paul
Missouri: Independence, Kansas City, Lees Summit
Mississippi:Brandon, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Meridian
New York: Brewster, Carmel, Holmes, Hopewell Junction, Lagrangeville, Mahopac, Patterson, Pauling, Poughquag, Putnam Valley, Somersault, Stormville
North Carolina: Burlington
North Dakota: Annapolis, Baltimore, Bel Air, Bethesda, Bowie, Columbia, Ellicott City, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, Hyattsville, Laurel, Parkville, Pasadena, Rockville, Salisbury, Silver Spring, Upper Marlboro, Waldorf
New Hampshire: Manchester, Nashua
New Jersey: Bayonne, Brick, Camden, Cherry Hill, East Orange, Edison, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Lakewood, Newark, Passaic, Plainfield, Toms River, Trenton, Union City, Vineland
New Mexico: Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe
Ohio: Youngstown, Albany, Beaverton, Corvallis, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro, Portland, Salem, Springfield
Pennsylvania: Altoona, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Johnstown, Lancaster, Lebanon, Levittown, Mechanicsburg, Norristown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pottstown, Reading, Scranton, State College, West Chester, Wilkes Barre, York
OREGON: Albany, Amity, Aurora, Banks, Beaverton, Boring, Clackamas, Cornelius, Corvallis, Damascus, Dayton, Dundee, Estacada, Eugene, Fairview, Forest Grove, Gaston, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Harrisburg, Hillsboro, Jefferson, Junction City, Lake Oswego, Lebanon, McMinnville, Newberg, North Plains, Oregon City, Philomath, Portland, Rainer, Saint Helens, Salem, Scappoose, Sherwood, Springfield, Sweet Home, Troutdale, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville
Rhode Island: Pawtucket
South Carolina: Aiken, Charleston, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville,
Tennessee: Antioch, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cleveland, Cookeville, Cordova, Franklin, Hendersonville, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport, Knoxville, Maryville, Memphis, Murfreesboro, Nashville
Texas: Baytown, Conroe, Cypress, Houston, Humble, Katy, Kingwood, League City
Missouri City, Pasadena, Pearland, Richmond, Spring, Sugar Land, Tomball
Utah: Clearfield, Layton, Logan, Ogden, Orem, Provo, Salt Lake City, Sandy, West Jordan
Virginia: Alexandria, Arlington, Ashburn, Centreville, Charlottesville, Danville, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Glen Allen, Harrisonburg, Henrico, Herndon, Leesburg, Lynchburg, Manassas, Mechanicsville, Midlothian, Petersburg, Reston, Richmond, Roanoke, Springfield, Stafford, Sterling, Vienna, Williamsburg, Winchester, Woodbridge
Washington: Auburn, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Bremerton, Everett, Federal Way, Kent, Kirkland, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Marysville, Olympia, Port Orchard, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Seattle, Snohomish, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Yakima
Washington, DC
West Virginia: Charleston, Huntington, Martinsburg, Morgantown
Recent Articles on Internet Essentials
Internet Essentials expands again: Now available to all low-income Americans, the disabled, and seniors on Medicaid - Comcast has once again proved its commitment to low-income Americans by opening up its Internet Essentials program to ALL low-income Americans, people with disabilities and seniors on Medicaid.
Comcast’s Internet Essentials program now helping four million low-income Americans - One million households, four million customers. No matter how much some community advocates complain, Internet Essentials program is a huge success, and no other low-income internet plans come anywhere close to those numbers.
Warp speed, Mr. Sulu: Comcast increases speed for Internet Essentials customers - Comcast’s low-income Internet Essentials plan are about to an very early Christmas present. The company is increasing their internet speeds by 50%. Finally: HUD approves internet access program for low-income seniors - Seniors in all of Comcast's markets can now apply for the company's Internet Essentials program to obtain internet access for $9.95 per month. It's also offering technical training, digital literacy programs, and devices for senior citizens in those communities.
Huge Internet Essentials expansion: $10 per month plan now available to HUD families with no children - If there’s one complaint we hear most often here at CheapInternet.com, it is that none of the low-income Internet plans are available to families without children. Well, Comcast and its Internet Essentials program has taken a big step toward solving that problem. Comcast and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (otherwise known as […]
More good news for America’s poor: Comcast bringing cheap internet to public housing residents - Comcast just announced that it has begun rolling out its low-income, high-speed Internet Essentials plan to residents of public housing.
Comcast testing Internet Essentials program for low-income community college students in Colorado and Illinois - Until now, the Internet Essentials program has targeted low-income families with at least one student who qualifies for the National School Lunch Program. What’s always baffled us if that students’ eligibility was cut off the day they graduated from high school — just in time to cut them off from affordable internet as they go […]
Great news for America’s senior citizens: Internet Essentials conducting pilot program for seniors - If everything goes well, Comcast will begin offering high-speed Internet for just $9.95 per month to senior citizens across the country. Eligible seniors will also be offered Internet-ready computers for just $150.
It’s about time: Comcast develops pilot program to bring high-speed internet to low-income seniors - Comcast is addressing one of the Internet Essential program's biggest shortcomings by conducting a pilot program designed to bring Internet Essentials to low-income senior citizens.
Twice as nice: Comcast doubles the speed of low-income Internet Essentials program - Internet Essentials has made their outstanding program even better by doubling its speed from 5 Megabytes per second to 10 Mbps., and giving customers a free wireless router.
Bobbie Thomas says
My grandson dose not live by with me but I keep him about all the time I’m disabled my self can I get this so my grandson can do school work cause school is closed for the rest of the year this is where I live.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You may qualify for yourself, but you cannot get the account in a minor’s name. Contact the company’s customer service team using the contact info we provide.
Claudia urquilla says
Hola yo llené la aplicación pero cuando puse mi dirección decía qué no está correcta si es mi dirección qué escribí necesito el internet para las tareas de la escuela
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
No habla espanol, Claudia.
Don Jordan says
I had applied twice for Comcast essentials. Was placed on an over-affordable plan against my wishes by Xfinity employee after he requested I provide my mothers death certificate. As the plan became un-affordable and fell delinquent I reapplied for Essentials and was denied. After a few weeks we were facing eviction and homelessness. I am a Veteran on a partial disability with my disabled adult son and his 5 year old with whom he shares custody.
I was contacted by city services after my PG&E and Utilities were placed on a low-income status and was offered to have my Xfinity account restored at a lower rate and then eventually pay off the balance of the account to which I agreed. I was provided this install information – Your Installation Information Order Number:100149446690**** Installation Appointment: Tuesday, February 04, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Service Address: ********************* Questions about your installation? | Prepare for installation Here is a summary of your order Monthly Charges
Your Xfinity Plan
Performance Select Xfinity Flex Internet Performance Select | Download speeds up to 100 Mbps; Upload speeds up to 5 Mbps $34.99 / mo The offer is subject to the terms of your 12-month term agreement.
$110 Early Termination Fee applies.
Minimum Term Agreement Included Performance Select Internet Included Flex Streaming TV Box Rental Included Equipment & Services
Internet/Voice Equipment Rental $14.00 / mo Taxes, Surcharges & Fees
Estimated Taxes, and Government & Other Fees $0.55 / mo One-Time Charges
Payment Plans
Professional Installation $89.99 $15.00 per month for 6 months
and was asked to return any and all equipment the servgice technician didnt reecycle or reuse which I did the following morning.
After only 4 days of the account being reactivated Collections Agent Allyssa from Xfinity spoke harshly to me demeaned me, turned off the account while I was in the middle of checking and responding to my emails. She demanded $1000.00 stating that I never returned the equipment which I had, and attempted to provide the Tracking number and receipt information form the returned items. She was rude, abrasive and made false accusations for which I have suffered and feel violated by Xfinity as of now because immediatley after YOUR Organization reinstated the account with only just under $400.00 outstanding which I had discussed with a representative about getting that caught up as soon as HUD-VASH and Veterans Resources assisted me to get situated and back on our feet. A bill arrived shortly afterward for $1723. again claiming that i was at fault, cutoff my contract early (which was done on YOUR part) and that I maintained your equipment and had not turned it in which it was and I still possess the 3 receipts and confirmations.
As of today I still receive multiple daily emails advising me how to best utilize the Flex plan for which YOU had installed and also phone calls from your collections.
I have suffered some physical, emotional and mental crisis this last year and am unable to work at present and have a terminal illness that has limited my abilities and limited our income greatly. I have spoken to the BBB and other agencies about how to best resolve this issue as I do qualify for the Essentials plan which we were denied and I will pursue legal action to protect myself the onslaught of accusations and lies about the equipment and how we were misled and mistreated by your staff in regards to the program plan you suggested and then immediately turned off and took away from us and then began amassing fees and charges that were clearly in your error.
Please examine how to proceed forward and provide us the service and assistance that YOUR Customer Service and Essentials Program agents are capable of and withhold from the assault, insults and accusations from the Collections department.Please call me at 714-718-**** to resolve this and establish (re-establish) the Comcast Essentials…
Respectfully,
Don Jordan
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
That’s a bad story, Don, but PLEASE understands that this website is NOT affiliated with Internet Essentials nor with any other low-income service provider. This is an independent informational website. In other words, we have nothing to do with your service nor the problems with your service. Best of luck getting those issues solved.
Kat wilson says
I am 69 years old and receive and live solely on monthly social security benefits, which is no more than $21,000 per year.
I would like to know if I qualify for any of these programs, it is a little confusing to determine if I do.
I am presently with Spectrum and my monthly bill is approximately $85. I have to cancel, unfortunately.
Thank you for any help!
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Here’s what we’d suggest, Kat: Contact Internet Essentials customer service team and they can help you figure out if you’re eligible. It’s impossible for us to go into a lengthy discussion of eligibility rules here in the comments section.
john deppe says
Am interested in your9.95 service
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
It’s not “our” service, John. This is an independent informational website, NOT a low-income internet service provider. Contact the company directly using the contact info we provide above.
Hoagy says
is there a way to ask for comcast Int essentials for Ellensburg Wa.98926 ?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
It’s either available in your area or it’s not, Hoagy. There’s no way to request it if the company doesn’t already offer cable in your area. Check out the list of states/cities at the bottom of the article above to see if it’s available in your area.
TONY MARTIN says
Is this considered “lifeline? Im trying to get the free phone/ minutes but cant because those programs say im ALREADY on lifeline thru Comcast paying $ 10.00 a month, I told them NO, Its just a program to help the elderly [ me ] a senior citizen special,, any ideas on that???
TONY MARTIN says
Sorry, update, meant to add, im paying $ 10.00 a month for INTERNET,,,
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Comcast Internet Essentials is completely unrelated to the Lifeline free government cell phone program.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
No, these plans are NOT Lifeline. None of the low-income internet plans are connected to Lifeline.
Colette Okelley says
I would like to have the $10 internet package please
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Do you qualify? Have you enrolled? You can find all the info you need in the article on this page.
VJ says
That is such a load of bull. Is Comcast pretending to offer this while actually not offering it in ost areas? I am in Portland, Oregon. You list Oregon on this page, but below where you list the cities, none are listed for Oregon!
Because I am moving within Portland to a different ZIP code, I attempted to apply twice. Apparently, comcast makes it LOOK as if they offer internetessentials, while telling people in a large metropolitan area, “It looks like you do not meet the eligibility criteria for Internet Essentials. ” OR “It looks like you are in an area not served” OR “It looks like you have already applies”.
That is underhanded of Comcast. Is it just barely on this side of the law?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Thanks, VJ. You have discovered an inconsistency in our list. We do, in fact, list Oregon up near the top of the page, but then we list no cities in the section of the page where they should be. We will look into this discrepancy and get back to you.
Francheska says
I need cheap internet for 2 kids in school
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Here’s where you can check out ALL the low-income internet plans to find the one that fits your needs best (and is available where you live):
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
James says
So u need a cable internet ready home to use the self install kit correct?? So what im asking is if my home has no xfinity cable hook up i would not be able to use this would i?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Yes, you must be cable-ready. The problem many rural customers face is that cable does not come to their house.
JK says
LOL all I wanted to know is what State/city/county for Internet Essentials. The web site does not off should have drop down box with state and city or county it would be perfect. Apply first only to see if your state offers this or unless they just want you information before saying (I think so)
This site is booked marked Thank you very much for the great information and in details where you not help but to understand.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Huh?
Henry says
The Comcast Internet Essentials website does not have a look up feature to determine if you are in their service area. You need to complete the online application and enter your street address. It will then respond if you are located in their service area or not.
If you are concerned about revealing your residence and name before you can determine if you are located in their service area, I can understand that. You are concerned about identity theft. But be aware, that names and addresses can easily be found online anyway. If you are paranoid about getting exposed, I would suggest never to go online at all.
Henry says
I current have PCs for People wireless internet service at $135 per year. This offer would be cheaper than the Sprint service (which appears to max out at about 20 MB/second speed from my area). I know a Comcast branch office just down the road from my home. I wonder how this service will be installed? Same like running some kind of underground cable into the home that connects to a router device? If they have to dig and cut through parts of the house, that may not be a good thing. I will try to find out what exactly the installation service is involved with this company.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
No, they don’t have to dig anything up, Henry.
Henry says
Hello
Thanks for the clarification. I looked over the Comcast site concerning wifi service and they use a router device to connect to their over the air signal. I have seen the Comcast Xfinity SSID listed on wireless network connection list box on the task bar of the browser. The connection is listed as unsecured(no security type listed). However, I could not connect to it and it sends me to a login screen for Xfinity Comcast portal to sign in after I try to go to any website.
melissa nichols says
I am looking for internet service for my two school aged kids. I am on a very low fixed income. we receive food stamps and badger care , but there aren’t any internet providers cheap enough. please help. It also states that the town that I live in is not eligible these services. Antigo WI is a smaller town with a lot of low income families that could benefit for this program.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are other programs available and you should check them out to see if one of the others can provide you with cheap internet service, Melissa. Here’s where you can find them all:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Patricia Rios says
Im on disability a fixed income.am looking for internet service thats affordable..im on housing an receive food stamps.but not much.can u please get back with me.Thank u
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are a number of plans available depending on where you live, Patricia. Here’s where you can find them and check the geographic availability and the eligibility requirements:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet