Comcast has announced that it will be offering qualified low income household access to it’s Internet Essentials service for 60 days for free (normally $9.99 per month). In addition they will be increasing the speed for all Internet Essentials customers from 15/2 MBPS to 25/3 (this looks to be a permanent change). After the two month period expires customers can either keep the service (and pay for it) or cancel it. There is no term contract, credit check or shipping fee for the equipment. For more information and to see if you qualify click here.
Knowing Comcast I think they have made it sound easier to cancel than it actually is. But this could be extremely useful for people that have had to self quarantine and don’t usually have access to internet at home.
Went from a 100/5 mbps plan to this 15/2 mbps. Don’t really miss anything. The only issue is 4k youtube video stutter playback. 1440p play fine as well as netflix 4k. So the 25 mpbs speed boost will help with youtube 4k. With xfinity provision speed boost, it’s actually 30mbps which is just the perfect speed unless you have more than 4 people all streaming at once.
PSA: Stay away from Comcast, unless there’s no other way to get online. The speed increases are total scam. My speed was “raised to 100MB” at no extra charge. It’s still measures at 1-2 MB most of the time. It’s not a measurement error — when I use a hot spot from my t-mo tablet, the speed promptly jumps to 30MB.
If you have not confirmed the problem also exists hard wired, it’s premature to blame any ISP for speeds when using wifi.
You were raised to 100mbps on internet essentials? That’s extremely unheard of. Internet essentials speed is now 25mbps download and 3mbps upload speed for $9.95.
I’m interested in how you got Comcast/Xfinity to upgrade your speeds on internet essentials. Like was it an offer mailed/emailed to you, an upgrade offered through your account management on the website/app, or did you had to call them? Their 100mbps plan is normally $55 + fees or their special offer is $34.99 + fees.
Unless you meant that your speed was increased 10mbps like they did for all customers in march due to the pandemic. So it raised from 15mpbs to 25mbps.
I got this years ago: $10 per month Comcast internet if you have a school age kid in the household that qualifies for free or reduced lunch. Just like commenter below, they paid for installation of new cables and a Jack where I wanted it, and a modem. They never double checked my qualifications since, at least not through me personally. I doubt they have another means to check. $10 per month feels like a fantastic rate for consistent service. And the sales tactics end when you say you have the $10 deal- they can never beat that 🙂
Free 60 days for anyone low income sounds great! If you’re worried about trouble cancelling, guarantee it with a visa/Mc/Amex gift card that is drained to $0, and keep records when you ask to cxl, like an e-mail or screenshot.
Got this years ago when our kid was on reduced lunch we qualified, while obviously slower speeds usually have no problem with 3 people streaming at once. The gamer kids may complain about “the lag”, but overall cant believe many of my peers spend $60 give or take for internet every month. $10 feels like a steal to me with the cost of data plans these days.
Nice, i had no idea about this, sending to my retired parents. BTW Just found this site, so much info the other crappy deal sites leave out.
I’ve had this for a year and it includes install and modem rental. They did take my SS # to verify identity but no credit check and no contract. Its great.
My address auto qualifies since we are a below market rate apartment. My area is expensive so that means a single person must make below $38k/year.
https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-spectrum-to-offer-free-high-speed-internet-to-households-with-students.html?fbclid=IwAR2xYGhIuQmgAifvgjszmU_ST1ls3esiP5zutFQT3dR6FlfajRgMDEquUF4 – According to this website, Spectrum is offering a similar deal for all homes with K-12 and college students that do not currently have internet with them.