Public services commissioner holds broadband discount event
Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley joined school officials for a press conference and sign-up event at Sudduth Elementary School on Thursday for the $50 Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
Broadband providers were on hand to sign up eligible customers on the spot for the discount and answer any questions they may have about the program, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) with oversight from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
What this program is designed to do is to provide a discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households.
“This $50 is coming at a time when we know Americans, and Mississippians, need it more than ever,” said Presley. “The mere nature of so many things moving regardless of the pandemic, the fact that we have all gone to online learning – and really have transferred the way in which we do business in this country – is going to prove to be a time in which affordability of internet is going to be very, very important.”
As providers, 4-County FASTNET, Cspire, Maxxsouth, and AT&T are all participating in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which brings a discount of $50 per month to any household that meets the federal guidelines of having a child who qualifies for free or reduced lunch, any household that has a college student who received a federal Pell Grant, or any household that has an income at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
The Starkville Oktibbeha School District is the first school district in the state to hold
a sign-up event for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, and in case another pandemic ever happens, the plan is for Mississippians to be more prepared when it comes to internet access.
“Internet access is the number one infrastructure issue in the state of Mississippi today, period. We have hundreds of millions of dollars coming into this state under the American Rescue Plan that, if you read it, should be going to build infrastructure like broadband and other items like that, and we need to get that done in the state of Mississippi,” said Presley. “Access to internet service is a utility, and it is a necessary part of modern life. God forbid that in the future we face another pandemic, in which you have Dr. [Eddie] Peasant and his staff having to flip the switch and send everybody back home. We want to be in a better shape when it comes for what that household experience is when that child has to go back home, and not have and a public policy that says it’s O.K. for folks to have to do their homework in the Mcdonald’s parking lot.”
Starkville Oktibbeha School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant concurred with the Commissioner in the fact that internet access is a utility that is vital in everyday life, and he is beyond excited that families in the community will be able to reap the benefits of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
“Four years ago, I heard Commissioner Presley speak at a Rotary meeting, and he talked about Internet being a utility. I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but it is just as important as having power electricity in your home. Unfortunately, some of our families in our community throughout our county have no access yet, but that’s moving forward every day now as our providers move and create more infrastructure to reach all our families in our community,” said Peasant. “We’re very excited about this program. When I was growing up, having access to information was through encyclopedias, and I lived in a home where we could not afford encyclopedias, but we found our way of getting that information. In today’s world, having access to the internet, it’s just like having a set of encyclopedias in your home, but much more.”
If you qualify for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, contact your internet broadband provider.
To see if you do qualify, you can visit www.getemergencybroadband.org and look over the qualifications.