Qualifying households are being encouraged to take advantage of discounted internet services through Emporia’s ValuNet Fiber.
Earlier this week, Sparklight, the parent company for ValuNet, announced it is providing free internet connectivity through the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program assists households who are struggling to cover the cost of internet service and is a replacement of the Emergency Broadband Benefit available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to federal data reporting procedures which ValuNet is not yet ready to provide, the business is providing a $30 discount for households that meet any of the following criteria including having an income at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines or having at least one member participating in any of the following federal assistance programs:
*Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
*Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
*Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
*Medicaid
*Federal Public Housing Assistance
*Tribal-specific programs: Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF)
*Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
*Head Start
*Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Programs
*Approved for free or reduced lunch program through USDA Community Eligibility Provision
*Received a Pell Grant award in the current year.
Tentative plans are for ValuNet to provide the full range of benefits through the ACP program within the coming months, however, that will be dependent on future funding for the program at the federal level. For more information on the ACP program visit FCC.gov/acp.
