It's April 1, and a lot of people don't know whether this month's rent can be paid, let alone whether they can stay connected to the internet for a steady source of news and entertainment.
Internet service provider Comcast has introduced a program for people who are already on public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, housing assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and others, to help them connect with its Internet Essentials package.
There are requirements. You must live in a Comcast service area; cannot be an existing Xfinity Internet customer; have not subscribed to Comcast Internet within the past 90 days; and have no outstanding debt to Comcast that is less than 1 year old, but families with debt more than a year old may still be eligible.
It's easy to apply at internetessentials.com and the application works just as easily from a smartphone or a computer. A full list of requirements is listed on the site.
If you're approved, you could have internet service withing seven days with a self-installation kit. (There's a video to help you do the installation yourself.) The free service ends after two months, then the plan will cost $9.95 a month plus tax unless you disconnect service.
Comcast recently increased internet speeds to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, which means you can download much faster than in the past, when the max speed for the Essentials package was 15/2.
You must apply for the free Essentials program by April 30.
Style on 04/01/2020