Honor Roll of Low-Cost Internet Plans

With the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the monthly subsidy to help reduce the cost of internet service for qualifying households is no longer available.  However, some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) continue to offer low-cost internet plans, which are listed in the table below. We will continue to update the plans on this page as information is made available, but you should contact your internet service provider for detailed information.

To meet the needs of households with low-incomes, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer discount broadband plans. While offering more affordable choices is positive, varying costs, eligibility, and quality of service can make it challenging for digital inclusion practitioners, let alone individual customers, to understand which plans meet their needs.

Who is this page for?

This page is for anyone interested in learning about low-cost internet offers. We encourage individual consumers looking for low-cost internet to use EveryoneOn or the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) page to find specific offers in your area.

Honor Roll of Low-Cost Internet Plans

In the table below, click on the “+” symbol next to the provider’s name on the left-hand side to expand more information. Click on the red, hyperlinked text to go to the plan’s homepage. Click on the Good, Better or Best rating to navigate to the completed scoring rubric for an individual plan. The “Customer Alert” column describes our experiences with the ISPs and shows what information was incorrect or inconsistent.

Notes

Speed (Download/Upload) – The speeds listed for each plan are the fastest speeds advertised for that plan. Actual speeds may vary depending on the type of service available in a given area, along with a range of other factors, some of which can be controlled by the provider and some of which cannot.

Technology Type – This is the general type(s) of the service’s broadband technology. Where more than one type of service is listed, the provider generally offers service through the best technology (e.g. fiber) where it is available and through another technology (e.g. cable or DSL) where it is not.

Additional Taxes & Fees – Additional taxes and fees include any costs beyond a plan’s monthly subscription cost. These could include one-time costs like installation fees or recurring costs, such as taxes and monthly equipment rentals. While NDIA makes an effort to document all additional costs, it is possible that some costs may not be readily apparent on a provider’s website.

Service Area – Service area mapping is shown for each provider and is not plan-specific, and some plans are not offered across a provider’s entire service area. Broadband Now shows general service areas with consistent mapping across all providers. Users should contact providers directly for specific availability for each plan, using the links provided in the “Plan” field.

Eligibility Criteria – Eligibility criteria are based NDIA’s Low-Cost Plans Model

NDIA developed Grading Internet for Good (NDIA GIG), a low-cost internet ratings system to evaluate the affordability and quality of low-cost internet plans. This rating system reflects lessons learned from ACP that contributed to the program’s success, along with consultation with NDIA Affiliates. The rating criteria include cost, speed, data caps, latency, throttling, eligibility criteria, and technology type, and eliminating barriers for those who qualify. 

The rating for each plan is visible in the Low-Cost Plan table on this page. Clicking on a plan’s rating will take you to the detailed scoring for that plan. 

There are 18 points possible:

• Plans rating between 1-8 points receive a “Good” rating
• Plans rating between 9-12 points receive a “Better” rating
• Plans rating between 13-18 points receive the “Best” rating

See NDIA GIG’s webpage for more information on the rating and how the plans are scored.

NDIA’s Affiliates aim to provide ACP participants with a suitable alternative as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ends in their communities. Before the pandemic, a few Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offered “low-cost plans” for low-income households. However, the plans varied widely in their offerings, administration, and eligibility requirements. We spoke with  NDIA affiliates to understand their suggestions for a low-cost internet plan model, and based on their feedback, we created a Low-Cost Plan Model. With the end to ACP NDIA urges providers to offer this Low-Cost Plan Model to qualifying households.

Inclusion Standards

Low-Cost offers must meet the following minimum standards to be included on this page:

Speed: While the federal definition for “broadband internet” is now 100Mbps download/20Mbps upload, plans with speeds at or above the threshold of 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload are included on this page

Cost: Maximum monthly subscription cost for any plan will not be greater than $30/month. Limited-time and promotional offers will not be included.

Data Caps: Plans included on this page have no data caps or the data cap is at or above 1TB

Updates and Adding More Offers

We regularly review and update this page. As part of this process, we reach out to ISPs by phone and research offers on their website. We ask about monthly costs (including taxes and fees) and several other details.

We have consistently heard misleading information from some providers about plan costs, eligibility requirements, and plan availability.

To suggest additional content, email [email protected]. Additional plans should adhere to the Honor Roll of Low-Cost Internet Plans page inclusion standards above.