New Castle County Government: New Castle County Partners With FCC To Bring Consumer Awareness For Emergency Broadband Benefit

Press release from the New Castle County Government:

May 12, 2021

New Castle, DE – Today, New Castle County announced it is working to help build consumer awareness about the Emergency Broadband Benefit, a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program.  The temporary benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

New Castle, DE

“We’re pleased to partner with the FCC in getting the word out about these important discounts,” said County Executive Meyer. “We’re thankful the FCC has provided a number of programs where people who need help get to stay connected for work, for school, or just to stay connected to their community.” 

The $3.2B Emergency Broadband Benefit program provides a discount of up to a $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands. The benefit also provides up to a $100 per household discount toward a one-time purchase of a computer, laptop, or tablet if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase through a participating broadband provider.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:  

 Emergency Broadband Benefit enrollment will begin (opened) on May 12, 2021. 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.  Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at  www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. any day of the week.

This press release was produced by the New Castle County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.