A household is eligible if a member of the household:
- Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
- Receives benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, or did so in the 2019-2020 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;
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program; or
- If the household has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.
You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311.
Click here for an FAQ for Rhode Island stakeholders. This is a working document, so please check back for updates.
Additionally, the FCC has created an outreach toolkit with many resources for sharing this information with those your organization serves. Click here for more information.
We encourage you to help spread the word with your residents.
Click here for an infographic, and here for a handout that can be shared.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a temporary program. The EBB Program will end when the fund runs out of money or six months after the Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID-19 health emergency, whichever is sooner. Participating households will need to opt-in to continue receiving broadband services from their provider after the program ends. If a household chooses to continue receiving service after the end of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, they will be billed the broadband provider’s general monthly rate.
