Mediacom Communications reported Monday that it has enrolled more than 40,000 customers in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a new federal program which provides eligible households $30 per month off their internet bills.
Among Mediacom customers receiving the ACP benefit, over 600 are northeastern North Carolina residents living in smaller communities and towns where the company’s fiber network delivers broadband service.
Mediacom is the cable and internet provider to Bertie, Camden, Chowan, mainland Currituck, Martin, Northampton, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington counties. Each of the counties has residents participants receiving the ACP benefit.
With more economically vulnerable families eligible to use the ACP benefit, Mediacom is expanding its efforts to raise awareness for the program that just celebrated its one-year anniversary.
The ACP benefit is offered through the Federal Communications Commission. It provides qualifying households with a monthly credit of up to $30 toward service from participating Internet Service Providers. The ACP credit can be applied to any residential service Mediacom offers.
To deliver maximum cost savings to families, Mediacom created a $30 internet plan called Connect-2-Complete Plus (C2C+). Mediacom waives installation and equipment fees for ACP-eligible customers subscribing to this plan. When paired with the $30 ACP credit, this allows households to receive Mediacom’s C2C+ service at no cost.
“On a daily basis, people need to access online resources for work, school and healthcare,” said Mediacom Operations Director Kim Mason. “A home connection is essential, and that’s why our technicians connect more people every week who can use the ACP benefit with Mediacom to gain reliably-fast internet and Wi-Fi in their homes.”
Mason explained that Mediacom’s North Carolina network uniformly delivers speeds up to 1-Gigabit-per-second and is available to residents and businesses living in parts of the Currituck mainland, the village of Camden, and the towns of Hertford, Edenton, Plymouth, Windsor and others.
“Mediacom was founded on the idea that America’s small communities deserve the same or better telecommunications services as our nation’s large, metropolitan areas. Acting on this mission, we’ve connected hundreds of low-income families in North Carolina. It’s a good feeling to bring our high-speed internet to families who struggle financially,” Mason said.
The FCC awards the monthly ACP credit to families with income at 200% of the federal poverty guideline or lower, and to those who qualify for certain other forms of government assistance. The broadband credit is limited to one per household. The ACP benefit is available to both new and existing Mediacom customers who qualify.
Individuals interested in participating in the ACP must confirm eligibility to enroll in the program. Information is available at local Mediacom service centers or by calling: 855-330-6918 (toll-free). Program details are presented in English and non-English languages at the online site: http://mediacomcable.com/acp.
