Low income families or households have the ability to use the Verizon Lifeline Assistance, which offers them a $9.25 discount towards their internet monthly bill. Of course, in order to use that discount, a family must meet very specific standards; their income must be equal or below 135% of the federal poverty guideline in most states. In some states that bar is set at 150% of the federal poverty guideline.
In order to be able to use that discount, you must find a provider that takes part in the Lifeline Assistance program.
To answer the question, there are some very specific options that do offer a limited amount of data transfer for free, however, in general, there are no providers that offer FREE internet to low-income families.
As the title suggests, herein we will discuss Verizon internet option for low-income families. We will do our best to provide you with all the information you need to decide if Verizon is a good choice for you and what plans can you get.
NOTE: Generally there is no FREE internet for low-income families. However, there are two options that offer a limited amount of data free of charge: NetZero dial-up internet (10 hours of free internet service per month) and FreedomPop free 4G mobile and home internet ( 1 GB of free data per month), which is better than nothing but won’t satisfied most families’ needs.
Does Verizon Participate in The Lifeline Program
Yes, Verizon does participate in the Lifeline program. Unlike some other wireless providers, who took the Lifeline Assistance to the next level by offering free plans and even free devices, Verizon keeps their Lifeline participation completely basic. This means that they enable families/households in certain areas in 11 states that meet the eligibility conditions to use the $9.25 monthly discount.
NOTE: The discount can be used only for one type of telecommunication service. This means that a household can use the discount for both wireless and internet.
Verizon offers a Lifeline discount in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Virginia.
How to Get Verizon Internet For Low-Income Families
In the past, there were some special offers for low-income families offered by the Verizon and they might again appear in the future, however, currently, the only way for a low-income family to get a discounted internet is via the Lifeline Assistance program.
Below are further details on how to apply for the Lifeline discount at Verizon.
Based on The Lifeline Program
Verizon offers Lifeline plans for home phone service or broadband (internet) service. The broadband discount is limited to Fios internet service at a speed of 18 megabits per second or above.
NOTE: We will have a closer look at the exact plans in the following section.
Regardless of the state in which you reside, if you qualify through your income, you must include a photocopy of an official document or documents. See below for the full list of accepted documents. Do not send original documents, as they will not be returned.
Full list of documents for the low-income applicant:
- prior year’s state, federal or Tribal tax return
- current income statement from an employer
- paycheck stub (see note below for requirement)
- Social Security statement of benefits
- Veterans Administration statement of benefits
- retirement or pension statement of benefits
- unemployment statement of benefits
- workers’ compensation statement of benefits
- federal or tribal notice letter of participation in General Assistance
- divorce decree, the child support award
- other official document containing income information
Note: If providing a paycheck stub as proof and it does not cover a full year, you must show documentation for three consecutive months within the previous 12 months
Verizon doesn’t have an online application. You must print out the USAC’s application, fill it out, enclose the copies of the required document and sent it to the correct address as per instructions below.
- If you reside in Connecticut send the USAC application with the required proof documents to:
- Address: Verizon Lifeline Services, P.O. Box 16805, Newark, NJ 07101-6805
OR
- Fax all the paperwork including the application to 1.877.306.2190
- If you reside in Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, New York, or Virginia send the USAC application with the required proof documents:
- Address: USAC, Lifeline Support Center, P.O. Box 7081, London, KY 40742
- Address: USAC, Lifeline Support Center, P.O. Box 7081, London, KY 40742
Note: This is the link where you can download the application:
- DC, DE, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA:
- ENG: https://www.verizon.com/supportresources/content/dam/verizon/support/consumer/documents/phone/low-cost/ll_application_nvstates-2-7-2020.pdf
- SPA: https://www.verizon.com/supportresources/content/dam/verizon/support/consumer/documents/phone/low-cost/ll-sp_application_nvstates_2-7-2020.pdf
- CT:
- Only ENG version available: https://www.verizon.com/supportresources/content/dam/verizon/support/consumer/documents/phone/low-cost/ct_ll-app-ct-dereg-02132020.pdf
Verizon Wireless For Low-Income Families Internet Plans
How much does Verizon Lifeline cost? This is the question you have probably been asking yourself, right? In this section, we will present you with all currently available internet plans towards which you may use the Lifeline assistance discount.
As mention above, Fios Home internet is the only type of internet on which Verizon lets you use the Lifeline discount. There are currently three types of Fios plans.
NOTE: THE LIFELINE DISCOUNT OF $9.25 IS DEDUCTED FROM THE PRICES LISTED BELOW.
200 Mbps
- Use: Stream and download movies, shows and photos.
- Price: $39.99/month with Auto Pay + taxes & equip. charges
- EXTRA:
- Disney+ on Verizon for 12 months ($6.99/mo. after)
- $50 Visa® Prepaid Card
- Save $10/mo with Unlimited Wireless as part of Verizon’s Mobile + Home Rewards (this applies only if you decide to also get a wireless plan at Verizon).
400 Mbps
- Use: Great for multiple users, binge streaming and sharing large files.
- Price: $59.99/month with Auto Pay + taxes & equip. charges
- EXTRA:
- Disney+ on Verizon for 12 months ($6.99/mo. after)
- $50 Visa® Prepaid Card
- Save $10/mo with Unlimited Wireless as part of Verizon’s Mobile + Home Rewards (this applies only if you decide to also get a wireless plan at Verizon).
Gigabit Connection
- Use: Ideal for a virtually seamless entertainment experience. Up to 940/880 Mbps.
- Price: $79.99/month with Auto Pay + taxes & equip. charges
- EXTRA:
- Disney+ on Verizon for 12 months ($6.99/mo. after)
- Router rental included
- $100 Visa® Prepaid Card or Stadia Premiere Edition
- Save $20/mo with Unlimited Wireless as part of Verizon’s Mobile + Home Rewards (this applies only if you decide to also get a wireless plan at Verizon).
Others Providers That Offer Internet to Low-Income Families
Have you been asking yourself the following question: Where can I get free internet? Well, it might be trickier than you might have hoped. As mentioned in the first section, there are only two companies that offer a very limited internet connection for free.
However, there are quite many internet providers that accept the Lifeline Assistance discount, in a way that Verizon does. The list of all providers that accept would be too extensive, thus we decided to present you only with offers that are most affordable. See the list below.
- The Federal Communication Commission’s Lifeline program: $9.25 discount on internet service through participating ISPs*
- Xfinity’s Internet Essentials program: $9.95/mo. for up to 15 Mbps
- Spectrum Internet Assist: $14.99/mo. for up to 30 Mbps
- Cox Connect2Compete: $9.95/mo. for up to 15 Mbps
- AT&T’s Access program: $10.00/mo. for up to 10 Mbps
- Mediacom’s Connect2Compete program: $9.95/mo. for 10 Mbps
- NetZero dial-up internet: 10 hours of free internet service per month
- FreedomPop free 4G mobile and home internet: 1 GB of free data per month
NOTE: In this article, we are focused on presenting you with Verizon’s option, however, that doesn’t mean that Verizon offers the most affordable option. As you can see from the above list, there are many more affordable options, though you should keep in might that Verizon’s Fios has superior performance and reliability.
Can I Get Free Internet at Home
As you can see in the list presented in the previous section, there are only two providers that offer FREE internet. Moreover, these free options are very limited and offer only a specific amount of data.
THESE ARE ONLY FREE INTERNET OPTIONS THAT WE FOUND:
- NetZero dial-up internet: 10 hours of free internet service per month
- FreedomPop free 4G mobile and home internet: 1 GB of free data per month
Like always in life, you have some additional ‘hustle’ option to get free internet. First, turn on your WiFi (on your mobile phone or laptop/computer) to view available connections. If you are able to detect any networks that are not locked, you can simply log in.
However, most likely the available networks will be protected with a password. In this case, you may ask your neighbors to share their password with you. If they will be so kind, make sure not to overload their network with some heavy downloading or streaming.
Does Verizon Offer Home Internet?
Yes, Verizon offers home internet. Their internet network is called Fios and it is fully operational on fiber-optic infrastructure, which means that uploading and downloading is super-fast (of course, it depends on your plan).
For more details, refer to the section above that presents Verizon’s plans.
Does Verizon Wireless Offer Discounts for Seniors, Students and Disabled
Aside from Verizon TV and internet plans, they have very popular wireless services. Currently, they are not offering any special discounts for disabled individuals, however, they do have discounted plans for seniors that are 55 years old or above.
Discounted plan details:
- Required Age: 55+
- Price: $60 per month for one line, $80 per month for two lines (only available in FL, MO, and IL); (For comparison: None-55+ Price: $75 per month for one line, $130 per month for two lines)
- Minutes: Unlimited
- Text: Unlimited
- Data: Unlimited LTE
- Additional perks: Unlimited mobile hotspot (600kbps)
If you’re a student, then you can get the advantage of a few exemptions and deals from Verizon Wireless. Based on your school, you can take 10% to 25% off the monthly value of your data plan. You only need to put in your school email address to look at what deduction you’re eligible for.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are not as many FREE home internet options as one might have hoped for. If you are a member of a low-income family, applying for the Lifeline Assistance may be a great option for you to get at least a $9.25 discount towards your monthly bill. Though it might be a smarter decision to use your Lifeline Assistance towards a wireless deal that can get you free plan and free mobile. Those often come with a decent amount of free data (up to 3GB), which you can then use to access the internet or use it as a hotspot to access online through your laptop. Just a thought.
Moreover, if you can afford Verizon’s internet service, they definitely won’t let you down as their Fios really offers amazing speed and reliability.