WESTFIELD – Whip City Fiber is building customer 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 in Westfield and the other Massachusetts towns served by Whip City Fiber during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The $3.2B Emergency Broadband Benefit program provides a discount of up to a $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households.
A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the following criteria:
- Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or the FCC’s Lifeline program;
- Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
- Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
- Experienced a substantial loss of income through job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020 and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.
Emergency Broadband Benefit enrollment will begin on May 12, 2021. Eligible households can enroll directly through Whip City Fiber at www.whipcityfiber.com/promo/ebbp. Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is also available at www.whipcityfiber.com/promo/ebbp. Customers can get assistance with their application by calling 833-511-0311 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. any day of the week.
