Mississippi is the 47th most connected state and 69 broadband providers do business in the state. Nevertheless, there are 10,000 people in Alabama with no access to broadband. No cable. No DSL. No fixed wireless. No mobile internet. Nothing.
Of the three million Mississippians, 753,000 have access to only one wired provider. Of course, that means ISP (internet service provider) can old them hostage, raise rates, or alter the terms and conditions of their contract. Because those people have no competitive options). Of that number 419,000 get by with low data caps on their home internet because they have no alternative to fixed wireless or mobile broadband connections.
The state’s poverty statistics are horrifying. That’s the only word to describe them. The overall poverty rate is 24%. The child poverty rate is a shocking 35%. The senior poverty rate is 15%. And the extreme poverty rate is 10.7%. In other words, there’s a lot of room for improvement.
But fear not, because CheapInternet.com knows a number of ways you can get high-speed broadband internet access at prices far cheaper than you ever imagined possible.
Low-Income Internet Options
Here is the internet’s most complete list of companies and organizations that offer low-income Americans low-cost, high-speed internet access. And when we say low-cost, we’re talking about plans whose prices range from free to $14.95 per month for broadband internet. Different companies offer different prices, different types of Internet (i.e., cable, DSL or mobile), and different ways to qualify, so check them all out to see which low-income program is right for you. Click on any of the programs below to see full details on what they offer.
- ConnectAll
- Access from AT&T
- Comcast’s Internet Essentials
- Windstream
- Frontier Communications
- EveryoneOn
- Mediacom
- SuddenLink
- PC’s for People
- Coming soon: Lifeline Broadband
Other Low-Cost Internet Options
What if you want to sign up for a cheap internet plan, but don’t qualify under the rules of the plans shown above? Or what if none of those plans are offered in your area? Luck may still be on your side, because there are other low-cost plans available for you if you know where to look. And at CheapInternet.com, we know where to look. Here’s a brief review of other low-cost options that may be available in your area.
- 4G Community
- Karma
- FreedomPop Mobile Internet
- FreedomPop Home Internet
- NetZero DSL
- NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband
Lifeline Broadband Pilot Programs
The Lifeline Assistance program, which offers free government cell phones to low-income Americans, has helped millions of needy Americans. The program has been so successful that the Federal Communications Commission decided to investigate the possibility of creating a similar program called Lifeline Internet or Lifeline Broadband.
Fourteen cable companies and service organizations were selected by the FCC to test pilot programs in various regions around the country. The pilot programs looked into the impact of various pricing plans, discounts, and equipment.
We expect the FCC to announce the results of the pilot programs and perhaps even announce the introduction of an official Lifeline Broadband (or Lifeline Internet) program before the end of 2014. Although you can no longer sign up nor participate in these programs, you may be interested in seeing what the future of free internet may look like in your state.
Who: Nexus
Where: Ohio, New Jersey, Nevada, Mississippi, Michigan, Louisiana, Iowa and California
Budget: $2,800,000
Contact: 877-870-9444
Nexus and Connect Ohio investigated the impact of various subsidies and digital literacy on rates of broadband adoption. Subscribers were given $15, $20 or zero subsidies (depending on their home zip codes) on a variety of plans differentiated by usage limits. Nexus expected the results to demonstrate (1) subscribers’ willingness to pay for data limit increases and (2) to determine if subscribers were satisfied with the choices they made.
Municipal Broadband Networks
Wikipedia defines a Municipal Broadband Network (often called Community Broadband Network) like this: “Municipal broadband deployments are broadband Internet access services provided either fully or partially by local governments. Common connection technologies include unlicensed wireless (Wi-Fi, wireless mesh networks), licensed wireless (such as WiMAX), and fiber-optic. Although many cities previously deployed Wi-Fi based solutions, municipal fiber-to-the-home networks are becoming more prominent because of increased demand for modern audio and video applications.”
Unfortunately, there are no municipal broadband networks operating in Mississippi.
Shane says
Nice article. My sister and a couple friends have a discounted service through, Xfinity. If you are in a certain income group and have children in school, draw benefits like, free school lunch, food stamps, taniff, you can get a cable internet for around 10 bucks a month. I use insane amounts of data. Xfinity only complains if you go over 50 gigs. They will warn you before you cap though. Lol I know this is available in the greater Jackson area, not sure how far it extends. I assume as far as they service?
Many businesses offer free wifi. You may have to. Sign in a browser. By the way, I have stayed in hotels with browser signins. This is sometimes not good for gamers. My console browser wasn’t compliant. I found a work around. Sign in wifi with phone. Change mac address to the same as phone, it last as long as the token.
I can testify to poverty status. I work for a company I worked for in 1999 – 2001. I left and came back in 2016 because It isn’t as labor (manually anyway) stressed as what I had been doing. Everything has gone up as far as what the company sales. Alot! But the pay is the same. I work between 45 – 48 hours a week. I make below 20 k. After insurance, uniform fees, other fees like beverage privilage. My bring home is around 16k. I went to the docter one time. But I didn’t make the deductible. Insurance cost? 1600.00 thats not including dental and vision. I didn’t use dental any. I used vision I guess it cost them around 100.00, if that. My sons vechicle recently broke down. So I have been struggling to get to work. I have been knocked down to around 30 hours. I have lived outside Mississippi a few times. When I cross that state line coming back, it feels like home.. I love Mississippi! I just wish, something could be done to improve living, and health. It would cut down on violence and such. They have us all herded In areas. Lol least they could do, is throw us some free internet! Lol
Audrea says
Amen to that honey!
DELORIS FORBES says
I am looking for some not so expensive internet
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
You’re in the right place. Check out the options on this page, Deloris.
kirby says
please furnish me with a phone number that i can talk to some one about new service.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
All the links are in the article above, Kirby. Just click on the names of the programs and you’ll find what you need.