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Broadband available to eligible households May 12

FOOTHILLS—Households who are eligible will soon have an opportunity to apply for broadband. 

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Thursday that eligible households can apply for the Emergency Broadband Benefit beginning on May 12. 

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is designed for families who have not had access to Internet to have it, particularly for school. 

“Families in every corner of the country have been struggling to get online throughout this pandemic,” said FCC Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Thursday. “For those families, we now say help is around the corner. In less than 2 weeks, we will have a new way for disconnected Americans to access the Internet to carry out their day-to-day life, so they can reach the virtual classroom, take advantage of tele-health and seek new employment opportunities. 

There will be 3 ways to apply for the service. 

People can contact their preferred participating broadband provider directly to learn about the process; visit GetEmergencyBroadband.org to apply online and find a participating provider people can call for a mail-in application to 833-511-0311. The application can be returned with proof of eligibility to Emergency Broadband Support Center, P.O. Box 7081, London, KY 40742. 

More information can be found at www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-outreach-toolkit. 

The FCC hosted a webinar this week that provided an overview of the benefit, the eligibility criteria and how to apply. People can view that webinar online. 

People without Internet can utilize other places, such as local libraries to get the information about the service.