WASHINGTON, September 21, 2021—The Federal Communications Commission is partnering with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) to acknowledge Lifeline Awareness Week, September 20-24, 2021.
Lifeline is an FCC program designed to help make communications services more affordable for low-income consumers. This year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new FCC program, the Emergency Broadband Benefit, is also available to help families and households struggling to afford internet service. Households that qualify for Lifeline also qualify for the Emergency Broadband Benefit. In most cases, they simply need to opt-in with their current Lifeline provider or contact a different participating provider and choose an eligible plan to start receiving the monthly benefit.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward 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 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
Consumers can find more information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit. Additional consumer resources include a FAQ about the benefit, and a web page that lists participating broadband service providers by state and U.S. territories.
Consumers can apply online at GetEmergencyBroadband.org. Lifeline provides up to a $9.25 monthly discount on qualifying voice and broadband services for eligible low-income subscribers and up to $34.25 per month for subscribers on qualifying Tribal lands.
To learn more about Lifeline, go to www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers or www.lifelinesupport.org/ NARUC maintains a Lifeline Resource Page and a National Lifeline Awareness Toolkit with materials that can be customized by outreach participants for use in public awareness campaigns.
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