Welcome




This Guidebook was developed by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance with Public Knowledge and support from Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen.
The Discount Internet Guidebook has a twofold purpose. It is a practical guide for digital inclusion practitioners -- local community-based organizations, libraries, housing authorities, government agencies and others working directly with community members in need of affordable home broadband service. This guidebook also contains recommendations for policy makers and internet service providers to improve current offers and establish new offers.
This Guidebook describes affordable broadband plans for disadvantaged American households offered by commercial internet providers (or in two cases, nonprofit resellers of a commercial service). Reliable information about these programs -- who's eligible and where, what they cost, what they provide, how to apply, and the practical experiences of getting people enrolled -- is a vital resource for digital inclusion programs and strategies. In many cases, NDIA affiliates and others around the country have found this vital information difficult to come by, and even more difficult to verify. A list of discount internet offers is available here.
Authors
National Digital Inclusion Alliance
Angela Siefer
Bill Callahan
Public Knowledge
Alisa Valentin
Daiquiri Ryan
Benjamin Austin
Explore the Guidebook
Programs of Note
The One Government Communications Subsidy - Lifeline Assistance Program
Eligibility and Restrictions
Affordable Internet: Only One Piece of the Puzzle
Successful Outreach Strategies
Recommendations for ISPs, FCC and Congress
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
NDIA and Public Knowledge would like to thank the working group practitioners who participated in the survey, interviews and reviews of the draft.
- Bobby Coulter, Fresno Housing Authority
- Norma Fernandez, EveryoneOn
- Alyssa Kenney, DANEnet
- Vicky Yuki, City of Seattle
- Marian Christmon, Nashville Public Library
- Ed Blayney, City of Louisville
NDIA would also like to thank Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen for their sponsorship of this Guidebook.