FirstLight, a provider of fiber-optic data, internet, data center, cloud, and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, announced its ILEC entity will participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program and help struggling Maine residential customers who are having or have had difficulty paying for Internet service during the pandemic.
Through its ILEC, FirstLight serves residential customers based in Maine and will provide a discount of up to $50 a month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for Maine households on tribal lands during the program period.
A household is eligible if one member of the household:
- Qualifies for the Lifeline program
- Receives benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, or did so in the 2019-2020 school year
- Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year
- Experienced a substantial loss of income since February 29, 2020, and the household had a total income in 2020 below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program
The FCC did not give an official start date for the program but is expected to launch in the coming months. For more info about the program, visit https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-program.
