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










Imelda Diaz says
I need to help My son do his homework and I need low income internet
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Here’s where you can find all the low-income internet plans. Check them all out to find out what’s available in your area:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Briaunna Jackson says
I would like low income internet please
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Check out all the low-income internet plans available at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Catrassa Fuller says
Every time i try to sign up for this they give me the runaround. My child is a pittsburgh public schools student. I reside in public housing and do not owe Comcast. Why am i having this problem?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Since we are not affiliated with Internet Essentials (nor any other cheap internet plan), there is no way for us to analyze what your problem is, Catrassa.
Esperanza Rosas says
Comcast/X-finity Do you have low-cost internet for homeless college students available. Something similar to Wi-Fi on the go or hot-spot box? It would be a great help to students who don’t have a home to be able to have internet to plug into on the go. It would also help to offer something for the disadvantage youth who do not have internet and wish to attend college via internet classes. Just an Idea.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Let’s hope Comcast execs see your suggestion here, Esperanza.
Cynthia D'Amico says
Im intrested in this internet how do i get it going
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Check out ALL the low-income internet plans at this link to find the ones that fit your needs best, Cynthia:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Katie says
What if you receive a subsidy but it is technically not a HUD subsidy? Are people who receive assistance for housing still eligible?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We’ve never been asked that question and we are not ashamed to admit that we know absolutely nothing about non-HUD subsidies. You’ll need to ask your question directly to the Internet Essentials customer service team, Katie.
william shirley says
With school out my grandchildren (3) are on internet and using more data is their a plan to add low cost data for a couple of months?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Contact customer service using the contact info we provide in the article above, William.
Sandeka says
I wanna sign up but i still have equipment n i have a balance so i s my balance $600 or will it be lowered after i return equipment then will i qualify for the program o would love to start some type of arrangements to pay the bill off can i still get approved
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We’re not your service provider, Sandeka, so there is no way for us to know the details of your bill and what you owe. You need to speak to your service provider’s customer service team to get your questions answered.
Jefferey R Mattos says
It says for Internet essentials ” Comcast ” that you cannot have had service for the last the months. You would have to cancel and wait thee months. with no balance owing.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You are 100% correct, Jefferey. But one option to consider is switching to one of the other low-income internet plans immediately if they are available in Sandeka’s area.
Marsha Coleman says
Internet Essential lied about talking to me about a back bill that I owed years ago. Noone ever told me that. Now here I sit without cable that was cut off today without any warning. I’m pissed!!! As far as Im concerned they can come take the internet box back!!!
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Our article clearly states that owing back payments to Comcast will disqualify you from the program. Perhaps you didn’t read it before you enrolled. Your next move is probably to see if any of the other low-income internet plans are available where you live. You can review them all to find the one that fits your needs best at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Terrie allman says
Can I get a home phone hooked up too?
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Lifeline offers discounted home landlines, but they are not free.
Sharyn Chambers says
I needed Internet service
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Then you need to enroll, Sharyn.
Justin Timer says
Go to a library and use the internet there. I am sickened my bill is 10x this amount to pay for others hand me out. I only make $30k yr and work my butt off and others dont work and get more free stuff. Stop being controlled by the democrat slave master.
Yaux says
It’s all how you look at life, isn’t it? I explained to my Mother now that she is a senior citizen on very low income after paying taxes her whole life, and having a father, brothers, husband, and son who all did their duty to their country and served in every branch of the military, it’s more than ok for her to get her internet for $9.95 when I have to pay $60.00 for my college aged son to complete his school work. It’s more than OK. When life throws you a tough moment, I hope you’re not kicking people who are trying to help you. If you never need help or feel a need to help others, you’re doing something wrong. That’s the whole point of being here in the first place.
Jahaira Rivera says
I would like to get your services for my young kid who goes to private school.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You can check out all the low-income internet plans available to find the one that fits your needs best at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Anthony Mann says
Hey I have move: my old address is ** ****** *** South Bay Florida on 12/28/2019 can turn my internet off? Can you send my bill to **** ******* **** Memphis Tennessee 38128
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
No, we cannot do that because we are not your service provider. Get in touch with its customer service team.
Britney Hawkins says
I’m starting g online school and I can’t started without internet
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You need to check out ALL the low-income internet plans that are available, Britney. You may find one that fits your needs better than all the others. Here’s where you can find that info:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Peggy Palacios says
I am on a low income my income from SSN is 1240.00 per month. I do have a computer but! i can,t pay anymore 10.00per month for a internet service.Could you you help me get a internet service for 10.00 or 15.00 per month.I can,t pay anymore then that. And as you know most internet service co,. are40.00 to50.00 prr month. thank you,Ms Peggy Palacios.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Check out all the low-income internet plans to find out which one might fit your needs best. Here’s a link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
rosemary reyes says
I HAVE ONE GRANDCHILD AND I NEED TO HELP HIM FIND THINGS HE NEEDS FOR SCHOO L
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Check out ALL the low-income internet plans available at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Check them all out closely to make sure you find the one that fits your needs best.
Kathy George says
I’m raising two grandchildren and I need internet immediately for schoolwork on snow days!
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are a number of plans you should check out to find the one that fits your needs best. You can find them all here:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Theresa Curtis says
i need internet ASAP for kids to do their homework after the CampFire…Please help–i can’t figure out to get internet up here!
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We cannot possibly comprehend what life must have been like during and after those horrible fires. Our hearts go out to you. That being said, it’s very, very difficult for rural residents to get internet service under the best of circumstances. We wish we had some brilliant words of wisdom that would help you, but we do not. Best of luck, Theresa.
Poli McNellis says
How to apply
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
The article tells you everything you need to know, Poli.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
The article on this page tells you everything you need to know, Poli.