You can find free or discounted internet through many nationwide service providers, including Xfinity, Cox, AT&T, Mediacom, Spectrum, Suddenlink, and Optimum. How can you get free internet through the government? The FCC Lifeline program can provide reduced-cost or even no-cost internet access. However, service is widely available in central and eastern neighborhoods like Jefferson, Old Brooklyn, Tremont, and Kinsmith. Cable provider Time Warner Cable has an expansive network in this area, leaving out a small part of Kamms Corner in southwestern Cleveland. Fastest Internet Service Providers in Cleveland.

Internet Service Providers Free Installation Service
Internet Service Providers Free Installation Services
Internet Service Providers Free Installation

At least 124,000 U.S. schools have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, schools are pivoting to online education.

Unfortunately, about 3 million students do not have access to the internet at home due to high costs and gaps in availability. That leaves a large number of students without ways to further their education. School districts and some of the best internet providers are coming together to help connect students to their virtual classrooms.

During this crisis, internet providers are doing something unprecedented — offering free or discounted internet options for students and low-income households. We’re breaking down the big players and their resources for students.

AT&T

AT&T is partnering with participating K-12 schools and colleges to give free wireless data for 60 days, via school-issued 4G LTE tablets and hotspot devices. Most households who don’t have broadband internet service are within reach of these cellular signals.

AT&T also has a low-income internet program called Access from AT&T. New participants who qualify will receive two free months of service. Those who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), National School Lunch (NSLP) or Head Start programs or who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are eligible.

AT&T is available in 21 states, with its most expansive coverage in California, Texas, and Florida.

Xfinity (Comcast)

For university students specifically, Xfinity is offering new customers a prepaid Visa gift card with $150 (which covers roughly two months of service). The deal comes with free self-installation and no upfront fees. The gift card arrives a few weeks after you sign up and install, so you may need to pay for those two months upfront and will then be reimbursed. To participate, you will need to verify you’re a student by uploading some relevant documents, and you must be a new customer.
Xfinity is offering two free months of internet service for those who qualify for its Internet Essentials package. It’s a limited-income program for people who are eligible for public assistance like Medicaid, SSI, the NSLP, Housing Assistance, and others. Speeds will be also increased to 25 Mbps for anyone who has the Internet Essentials package.

Xfinity is the largest cable internet provider with a presence in 39 states. Its top serviced areas are Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Jose.

Spectrum (Charter Communications)

Spectrum is offering one of the best deals: free broadband and WiFi (up to 100 Mbps) for 60 days to households with K-12 or college students who don’t currently have Spectrum service. Installation and prepayment fees are waived. Only new customers are eligible, and the deal is applied as a credit for the first two months of service.

Spectrum is available in 41 states, most concentrated in the cities of Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Saint Louis, and San Antonio.

Optimum and Suddenlink (Altice)

Both Optimum and Suddenlink, under the same parent company, are offering new customers free internet for 60 days. Households with students (K-12 and college students) who don’t have home internet service are eligible for the Altice Advantage 30 Mbps broadband solution.

Optimum is available in just four states on the East Coast: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Suddenlink services 20 states, mostly in the South — primarily Texas, West Virginia, and Louisiana.

Cox Communications

Cox is offering a discounted starter package for $20 per month and 50 Mbps. Its internet service starter package is typically $30 for 10 Mbps, so that’s a pretty significant upgrade.

The company also has a low-income internet program, Connect2Compete. Cox is offering two months free ($10 per month after) and increasing speeds to 50 Mbps. Families with K-12 children who are eligible for NSLP, SNAP, and those who receive Tenant-Based Vouchers, Project-Based Vouchers or Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), or who live in Public Housing can apply.

Cox is available in 19 states, with the strongest coverage in Arizona, California, and Virginia.

Google

In California, Google is working with the local government to set up 100,000 WiFi hotspots in rural households that will be free for three months. Google is also donating 4,000 Chromebooks to students.

Schools are helping, too

Many schools are doing what they can to support online education for their students. Some districts are deploying WiFi-enabled school buses to park in different neighborhoods during the day to offer internet access to students in the area. Some school districts are partnering with cell phone providers to give students LTE-enabled tablets or laptops and mobile hotspots.

Students seeking internet access should check with their district, university, and local internet provider for resources available to them.

Financial Difficulties

Some businesses are closing temporarily in order to reduce the risk of the illness spreading, some enterprises have even gone bankrupt and many more report that they would not be able to survive a social distancing policy that lasts for more than a few weeks.

People are already losing their jobs because of the virus and risk defaulting on their mortgages or being evicted from rental properties for non-payment. Although many states have implemented housing cost assistance, with 34 states issuing moratoriums on evictions, the response to the problem is not uniform across the nation.

Another financial problem that many already face is the difficulty in paying utility bills. As with the issue of rent or mortgage payments, the assistance available with late or missing payments on your utilities varies from state to state and from provider to provider.

Internet Service Assistance

Internet service providers have presented a more united front in their response to the COVID crisis. This is largely due to the intervention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which is the governing body for the telecommunications industry.

The FCC came up with theKeep Americans Connected Pledge just three weeks after the first US case arose.

The FCC plan initially endures for 60 days, but it could be extended. The scheme extends to telephone services as well as internet plans. However, it is not compulsory. Conscious of the need to maintain a socially responsible image, all of the major internet service providers have signed up to the plan.

Central elements of the assistance plan include a tolerance for late or missed payments by residential and small business customers. Compliant service providers agree not to terminate the service of those experiencing difficulties paying their bills during the period of the pledge. The agreement also inclu

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