New Low-Income Internet Program from FreedomPop/Connect2Compete

Would you like to have high-speed internet service but can’t afford it? A new program from FreedomPop and Connect2Compete offers 1 gigabyte of high speed mobile internet per month free, or 12 gigabytes of internet for $10 per month, for low- income people.

This program is similar to Interconnection’s Mobile Internet program and uses the same Clear 4G network—it’s totally mobile, you don’t need to have your own housing unit, phone or cable lines to use it. But unlike the Interconnection program, which provides unlimited internet usage for $120 per year, FreedomPop uses a pay as you go structure. FreedomPop gives you 1 gigabyte of internet a month free, and if you need more bandwidth, you can pay $10 per month for an additional 12 gigabytes a month. The number of gigabytes provided is the amount of data you can download from the Internet each month. 1 gigabyte is approximately 600 webpages or 2,500 Emails or 165 videos or 1,020 call minutes or 255 apps or 570 songs or 2,850 photos, for more info see this data usage chart.

The service is prepaid and there is no contract or credit check, so even if you owe money from past internet bills you can get FreedomPop internet. Both the free plan and $10 plan have no contract, and include free text and email alerts when your monthly data cap is approaching, and free “auto-off” if your monthly data cap is met. Clear 4G coverage is available throughout King County, although there are some spots where the coverage is not as good—you can see if you have the best Clear coverage by visiting clear.com/coverage and inputting your address.

You will need to purchase a FreedomPop modem to participate in this program. The desk modem costs $50 plus $9 shipping and handling (that’s $59 total). The desk modem just needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet and can be used with multiple devices at the same time including laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones or MP3 players. They also offer USB modems for $20 and mobile hotspots for $25, which come with 500 megabytes per month free internet, or one can buy 2gb for $20 per month with the USB modem or hotspot. The desk modem is a much better deal overall because you get twice the free data and more than 10 times as much data for $10 per month. You must pay for the modem up front using a credit or debit card.

Anyone who lives in a pre-qualified low-income zipcode or is a client of a pre-qualified partner agency is eligible for this program. We have signed up our agency Solid Ground as a referral partner with FreedomPop and Connect2Compete, so ConnectUp subscribers are automatically qualified to participate in this discount program irregardless of your zipcode. You can sign up online at www.connect2compete.org/solidground or by calling FreedomPop at 1-877-848-2810 and telling the agent that you are a Solid Ground client.