The life-threatening Covid-19 virus and the pandemic impacts have forced many people to live below their life standard as it forced to shut down many job sources and businesses. The catastrophe has this message for us that we need to come up together. We should cooperate with each other on every possible aspect to living a happy life. Good thing is that people, organizations, and private sectors came up with the government to help people who have been affected physically, mentally, and financially. Now, a question can hit you: how broadband internet service providers can join in the war against this pathetic Covid-19 pandemic situation? We have a good thing for you that will blow your mind after hearing this.
Straight Talk is a renowned wireless and internet service provider in the US, who stepped forward along with the government to assist people with the maximum discount on internet usages. So that people can continue their jobs and business online, and students can attend their classrooms virtually with less charge on the Broadband internet. It means if you qualify for the EBB program, you can enjoy discount broadband services Straight Talk. Here you will know the terms and other facts for the EBB program and how Straight Talk is facilitating the program.
What is the Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program?
Straight Talk is popular for reliable and quality call and data services in the US. They have already covered the whole of America sharing top network carriers with high-speed bandwidth. Now the extra advantage they will provide to the Americans is the emergency broadband service. EBB (Emergency Broadband Benefit) is the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plan to aid households with free internet connections. The government initiated the EBB program for certain households who lost jobs or businesses and were living in poverty due to the pandemic uprising. These households are specifically considered for their struggling time to cop up their livelihood.
Straight Talk joined this government-initiated program to help people with unlimited data, text, and other features. This program also features a nearly free tablet facility for every household. Though it is a temporary benefit program by FCC, it’s a hope for those households to stand on their feet and continue to make their living.
One household will be able to apply for one benefit only but have to qualify according to some terms and conditions. It is applicable only for those who lost their jobs and livelihoods during this pandemic. Those who experienced income depletion to below margin level can also apply for the Straight Talk broadband benefit program. There are other criteria of eligibility to get this benefit. We will also discuss them in detail so that you can get the best of this benefit program.
Why choose Straight Talk emergency broadband benefit?
Along with other various types of telecommunication services, Straight Talk has also a Broadband service nationwide. They have already proved their reliability and quality of services through their best plans and best phones. Their compatibility with the strongest networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and other GSM and CDMA phones made them the largest and the most dependable networks. Though Straight Talk is the most dependable network, people are more interested in their exclusive plans. With the “KYOP” program, you can switch your phone to Straight talk anywhere you move.
Now Straight talk started to provide welfare services including the highest facilitated program of EBB to frustrated households. You will get unlimited talk and text, a wireless service plan, high-speed internet, and many more facilities from this Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. It would be a wise decision to go for straight talk so that you can enjoy the latest EBB along with their regular attractive services and plans.
Eligibility criteria for the Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit program?
The people who are already participating in the Government Assistance Lifeline program are also eligible for this program. Some other criteria including income-based eligibility, determine eligibility, etc. also can qualify for the Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. Here are some of the ways of eligibility mentioned below.
National Verifier
Follow the FCC approval guidance, to be eligible for the Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. You may follow the national verifier policy. This is the most basic policy to follow when anyone wants to be eligible for a Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
Job Loss or Unpaid Leave
If you have gone through unpaid leave or have lost your job due to the pandemic crisis, then you can apply for the Straight Talk Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. It’s a per household benefit program in case anyone of a household suffers the loss of income. Here, according to FCC guidelines, people who got terminated or furloughed since February 29 of 2020, can be considered eligible to apply. If you think you are eligible then apply with all the official documents regarding your job loss.
Members of Lifeline benefits
The federal government already facilitates low-income people with affordable communications features through the Lifeline benefits program. Now it’s a great facility and an easy step for you if you already enjoy Lifeline benefits. FCC makes it easier to consider, you are eligible for the emergency broadband benefit program automatically if you are already a Lifeline beneficiary. It’s satisfactory to let you know that you can enjoy both programs automatically. If you are already enjoying Lifeline through Straight Talk, then it’s great to add EBB with the same service. However, you still can enjoy the Straight Talk emergency broadband program if your lifeline benefit is from other services.
Household Income Range
If your income is below the federal poverty level, then you can apply for the Straight Talk emergency broadband program. The federal poverty guideline already specified the level. If the income of the household is below 135% of the guideline, then you can register with the income statement. Let’s discuss a specific range of income that the guidelines say. For a single filer, it is yearly 99,000 dollars. It means if your yearly income is less than 99,000 dollars, then you can consider yourself eligible for EBB. For joint filers, the yearly income should be below 198,000 dollars. This rate varies on state and number of family members.
Federal Program Beneficiary
You can apply for the Straight Talk EBB program If any of the members of your household already get any of these programs benefits:
- FPHA (Federal Public Housing Assistance)
- VA Pension and Survivors Benefit
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or Food Stamp
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Security Income
- Federal Pell Grant for the current award year.
- Free School Breakfast Program or Reduced-price School Lunch Program
Some Tribal Benefit programs refer to the eligibility of the EBB program:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance.
- Tribal Head Start
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.
- Tribal TANF (Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
You can get the Tribal benefits only in some states.
How to apply for a straight talk emergency broadband benefit program?
If you want to apply for a straight talk emergency broadband program, first you need to check whether qualified or not. Then fill the form with the required information and ensure attachments. You can apply online and submit the documents. Just visit www.broadbandbenefit.com and follow the instructions. There are several documents required to apply the process. Here are some requirements to apply.
- If you are a member of the Lifeline program or other Government initiative then you don’t need to pass, you will be automatically eligible. Because you are already enrolled in a low-income program.
- Contact at 1-877-430-2355 for more details
- If you have got a termination letter or forced leave notice then include them with an income statement and tax return paper to apply.
- You need to submit proof of membership (ID card, official documents), if you are a valid beneficiary of any Federal assistance program (Veterans, Pension program, Medicaid, SNAP, etc.
- According to the Federal Poverty Guideline, if your household income is less than 135%, you need to provide proof of income and tax return.
- For the term of emancipated minors- submit the proof of minor status (court documents or certificates).
- Straight Talk has a low-income policy, you may apply for this assistance program with specific details.
How to check the status of an application?
Visit “getemergencybroadband.org”/ “broadbandbenefits.com to know the status of your application. If you have already filled in online then you can see the result immediately. Sometimes Straight Talk will ask for a few additional documents. They will ask for documents by sending a message.
Benefits of Straight Talk emergency broadband benefits
Straight talk emergency broadband comes with several benefits for their customers. They will allow you to connect with the whole world with these outstanding services. You can get some great advantages, those are:
- Unlimited Data free of charge
- An additional 10 Gigabytes of Hotspot Data
- Talk and Text Promos (Unlimited talk and text)
- A free Tablet or one time discount for purchasing new tablets or laptops
- You can share the hotspot data with your family members
- Uninterrupted and free broadband internet connection
- Data services vary over plans. Some plans have unlimited data.
Final Recap
Straight Talk is blessed with its customers’ satisfaction. They have been providing quality service to their customers according to the demands and dependencies. During this economic crisis, Straight Talk didn’t hesitate for a moment to come forward to serve the households who have been suffering the loss of income in this pandemic. Whenever the federal government announced the EBB program, Straight talk proudly enrolled itself in this great initiative.
So that eligible households can continue doing their livelihoods virtually, students can attend online classrooms, everyone can get essential online services. The Unlimited data, text, and talk time can save them from costs in this crisis moment. So Straight Talk is blissfully ready to serve you with what they are doing already for their happy users. You just enroll yourself with Straight Talk and the emergency broadband benefit will bless your moments.
