Recently it was announced that eligible Polk County residents could receive critical help to pay for high-speed internet from a $3.2 billion federal program for families and households working, learning and shopping from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Charter Communications has released additional information about how its customers can apply for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which will give a discount to those eligible of up to $50 a month from a household’s internet bill.

To qualify for the EBB discount through Charter, a household will need to meet any of the following criteria:

• Qualifies for the Lifeline program, which is a federal benefits program
• Received benefits during the past two years through the school breakfast or free and reduced-price school lunch programs, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision
• 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 providers’ existing low-income or COVID-19 program (for Charter, this is called the Spectrum Internet Assist program)

“Charter has a long track record of increasing connectivity through expanding broadband access, adoption and affordability,” said Catherine Bohigian, Charter Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, in a press release. “Through our participation in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, we are further breaking down barriers to connectivity for American families, as part of our long-term commitment to advance access and improve broadband adoption.”

Interested consumers who are not currently Spectrum customers should visit spectrum.com/getqualified or call 1-855-662-9946. Current Spectrum customers can visit spectrum.net/broadbandbenefit to learn more.

For more information about the SIA program, visit SpectrumInternetAssist.com.