Last updated on March 31st, 2023 at 04:36 am
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB program) to help families and households in different parts or regions of the United States of America, struggling to afford internet service during the present COVID-19 pandemic.
Under this EBB program, the beneficiaries will get a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 from purchasing a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.
Major Carriers, Big MVNOs, and ISP offer discounts in FCC’s EBB Program
Almost all major carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile and their prepaid brands, as well as almost all MVNOs, including Boost Mobile, Tracfone, Straight Talk, NET10, Simple Mobile, Total Wireless, etc, and Internet Service Providers (ISP) like Optimum, Suddenlink, etc, are participating in this program and offering handsome discounts to eligible customers. The full list is here https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-providers.
AT&T and Cricket Wireless have notified their plans offering under the EBB program. You can check them out below.
AT&T Prepaid offers the following discounts under EBB Program
- AT&T Prepaid Data Only Plan (regular price $35/mo) which offers 15GB high-speed data only offer free of cost after an autopay discount
- AT&T Prepaid Data Only Plan (regular price $55/mo) which offers 55GB high-speed data only offer for $5 after an autopay discount
- AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Phone Plan (regular price $50/mo) which offers unlimited talk, text, and data offer free of cost after an autopay discount
- AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Phone Plan (regular price $60/mo) which offers unlimited talk, text, and data plus 10GB hotspot, 100GB cloud storage, and 5G network access offer for $10 after autopay discount
AT&T is also offering its postpaid plans viz AT&T Unlimited Your Way, Unlimited StarterSM, ExtraSM, and EliteSM plans, all of which have 5G access included and Select AT&T Internet plans including 1 GIG plan (Internet 1000) under the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit.
Cricket Wireless offers the following discounts under EBB Program
- Cricket Unlimited (regular price $60/mo), which offers unlimited talk, text, and data plus a 15GB Hotspot, offered for $10 after an autopay discount
- Cricket Simple Data Only Plan (regular price $55/mo), which offers 100GB data only, offered for $5 after an autopay discount
- Cricket unlimited Plan (regular price $55/mo), which offers unlimited talk, text, and data (8GB LTE/5G), offered for $5 after autopay discount
Red Pocket Mobile offers the following free plan under EBB Program
Red Pocket Mobile offers a free plan for qualifying households. The free plans offer unlimited talk, text, and 30GB of high-speed data at up to 5G by using any of the country’s major wireless networks.
T-Mobile offers the following free plan under EBB Program
T-Mobile offers a No-cost tablet with unlimited data to eligible households that don’t have internet with unlimited tablet data and 20GB of hotspot data, plus a Moxee Tablet or Alcatel Joy Tab 2.
Verizon offers the following Mix & Match plan under EBB Program
Eligible household customers having Fios old plans may get the benefit of this EBB plan and may opt for it. Customers may choose a Mix & Match plan offering 200 Mbps download and upload internet speeds for just $54.99, including a router, and no additional fees for just $5 after the$50 EBB discount..
In addition to the above carriers, many others are lined up and offering handsome discounts. You may visit their respective website and check for the offers under EBB.
Eligibility criteria for the EBB Program
An individual in a household must meet one of the following criteria to be eligible for a discount under the EBB Program:
- Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (typically earns less than $14,820) or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
- Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
- Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
- Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020, and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.
