Broadband Resources During COVID-19 Pandemic:
- Lifeline:
Lifeline is a federal program that lowers the monthly cost of phone and internet for qualified households. The Lifeline Support Center can help you find companies that offer Lifeline-supported service, look up which company you are using, or answer questions about how the program works.
If you participate in assistance programs like SNAP, Medicaid, certain other programs, or earn a certain income, you are eligible for Lifeline. You can call or email the help center, or check out the website, to see if you qualify.
To contact the Lifeline Support Center:
Call (800) 234-9473 Monday through Sunday, 9a.m. to 9p.m.
Email: lifelinesupport@usac.org
For more information you can also visit: https://www.lifelinesupport.org/
2. Resources Committed by Providers:
Charter (Spectrum):
Extending offer through June 30 of up to 100 Mbps broadband service for free for 60 days to new households with K-12 and/or college students, waiving installation fees for such households, and providing connectivity upgrades to over two dozen healthcare facilities across the country, and offering a free month of service to new small business customers.
To access service call: 1 844 488 8395
For free Wi-Fi hotspots locations: https://www.spectrum.com/wifi-hotspots
Mid-Hudson Cable:
Offering discounted Internet service and waiving installation fees for 60 days to households with students who don’t currently have Internet service.
To access service call: (518) 943-6600
MIDTEL:
For students, teachers, government employees (with ID confirmation) who are current non-customers we are waiving standard installation fees and offering 30-60 days free service, that could be extended up to 90 days with continued COVID-19 issues.
- For current non-customers who are "workers that request and absolutely need service for work reasons” we are performing expedited installations.
- We took the FCC Pledge and are not disconnecting customers for late payment and are waiving late fees for at least 60 days. We have also worked closely with our business customers and have offered to suspend or reduce services at no extra cost, with more than handful taking us up on the offer.
To access service call: 518-827-5211
Hughes:
Raising data caps and prioritizing educational services.
To access service call: 1-844-247-9895
Verizon:
Automatically adding 15GB of high speed data for wireless consumers and small businesses, and no data caps for DSL and FIOS broadband internet plans, introducing a new broadband option for low-income households, increasing data allotments for wireless customers and allowing that data to be used for hotspots, waiving activation and upgrade fees, waiving wireless data overage charges for impacted customers, offering discounts to nurses and teachers, providing free international calling to COVID19-impacted countries, tripling the data usage limit for students in Title I schools that are part of the Verizon Innovative Learning Program, providing free online learning tools to home broadband customers for 60 days, waiving internet and voice charges for Lifeline customers for two billing cycles.
To access service call: (800) 837-4966 / (800) 922-0204 (wireless)
https://www.verizon.com/about/news/our-response-coronavirus
AT&T:
Providing all consumer home internet wireline customers, as well as Fixed Wireless internet customers, with unlimited internet data, offering free data plans for certain school-issued tablets for 60 days, waiving wireless voice and data overage fees for all customers, expanding eligibility for its low-income internet program and offering new program participants two free months of service, offering free telehealth services for 60 days, offering free FirstNet-ready smartphones and reduced monthly service plans for 6 months to first-responder public safety agencies using FirstNet, introducing a new low-cost prepaid plan for new and existing customers, increasing data allotments for new and existing prepaid customers for 60 days, increasing hotspot plan data allotments for new and existing prepaid customers through June 30, and offering three free months of free broadband service to all verified and state-licensed nurses and physicians in the U.S.
To access service call: (800) 288-2020
https://about.att.com/pages/COVID-19.html
T-Mobile:
Offering unlimited smartphone data and additional mobile hotspot data for 60 days, providing additional free data to Lifeline partners’ customers, increasing data usage limits for schools and students using EmpowerED digital learning programs, offering $15/mo pay-as-you-go plan with 2GB of data, offering free international calling to COVID-19 impacted countries, introducing new low-cost smartphone plans, and reducing prices for hotspot devices and doubling the data allotment for those devices.
To access service call: (800) T-MOBILE
https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/ongoing-updates-covid-19
3. Low Cost Service Offers:
EveryoneOn is a nonprofit dedicated to creating social and economic opportunity by connecting low-income families to affordable Internet service and computers and providing digital skills training. Visit https://www.everyoneon.org/lowcost-offers to search low-cost Internet service offers from providers responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
4. Keep Americans Connected Pledge:
If your provider signed this FCC pledge they have committed to:
1. Not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic
2. Waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic
3. Open its Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them broadband providers
Capital Region Area Providers who have committed to the pledge include:
- AT&T
- Charter
- Comcast
- Frontier Communications
- Hudson Valley Wireless
- Hughes
- Middleburgh Telephone Company (MIDTEL)
- Mid-Hudson Cable
- Pattersonville Telephone Company
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
- Verizon
For the full list of all companies who have committed to this pledge, you can visit: https://www.fcc.gov/keep-americans-connected. If you can’t access the web site and want to check if a specific provider is on the list please call my office at (202) 225-5076 and we can check for you.
Customer Complaints
The FCC has a duty to take complaints and work on behalf of consumers who have disputes with their service providers, including issues with service quality or billing. Complaints can be filed online at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us or via telephone at (888) 225-5322.
