AT&T closes loophole in low-income broadband program after public interest pressure

AT&T is closing the loophole  in its Access from AT&T program, a discounted Internet service for low-income families, after pressure from a public interest group.

As a condition of its merger with DirecTV, AT&T launched, “Access from AT&T,” a program that offers low-income households multiple service options and prices, with 5 Mbps download speeds for $5 per month and faster 10 Mbps speeds for $10 per month. But the program wasn’t available to many eligible households in neighborhoods where download speeds were below 3 Mbps, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) revealed.

“The threshold for Access From AT&T is a download speed of 3 Mbps,” NDIA wrote. “If the fastest speed available at a particular address is less than 3 mbps, an otherwise eligible SNAP [food stamp] recipient at that address can't sign up for Access – though they can pay full price for lower speeds.”

After pressure from NDIA and other public interest groups, AT&T is correcting the problem by expanding the program to apply to low-income households where service speeds are below 3 Mbps. "We're currently working to expand the eligibility process of Access from AT&T to the 2% of our home internet customers unable to receive internet speed tiers of 3 Mbps and above," said spokesman for AT&T.

This is a good thing. It complements other AT&T efforts to increase broadband adoption. Last week, AT&T announced that it’s now a national stakeholder in the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD)  ConnectHome initiative, a public-private effort that will help connect families living in HUD-assisted housing to low-cost internet service.

 

Links:

AT&T to change policy of charging poor customers more for super-slow internet (CNN Money, Sept. 9, 2016)

“Access From AT&T” Not Available To 1.5 Mbps Households (NDIA, Sept. 5, 2016)

AT&T launches $10 broadband service to low-income households (Speed Matters, Apr. 26, 2016)

AT&T and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Join Forces to Narrow the Digital Divide (AT&T, Sept. 8, 2016)