Access to reliable home broadband has never been more crucial. Over the last year, we’ve experienced a shift to remote work and virtual learning that will likely last far beyond the pandemic. This rapid shift has revealed just how inaccessible home internet is in the US, particularly in rural America.
Today, 28 percent of rural Americans – about 15 million people – have no access to high-speed internet. And nearly 40 percent of the rural Americans who do have access to high-speed home broadband only have a single option in their area. That means zero choice, which often means higher prices and slower internet speeds.
Lack of reliable home internet also has tremendous, short- and long-term impacts for students – like lower test scores and limited opportunities after graduation. Even before the pandemic, more than 9 million of America’s 56 million school-age children did not have access to reliable internet and were unable to complete after-school assignments. Now, because of the pandemic, an unprecedented 50 million students across the country are learning remotely full- or part-time.
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Aimed at bringing high-speed internet to those who need it most, T-Mobile recently launched its wireless internet solution, T-Mobile Home Internet, to more than 30 million households across the country, including 10 million homes in rural areas and small towns. Here’s how it works:
Working just like any other broadband service by connecting wirelessly in your home instead of through a cable, T-Mobile Home Internet service makes use of the same extensive 5G network T-Mobile smartphones run on in areas where the network has extra capacity. This service is available at a simple, fixed price of $60 per month after AutoPay – equipment included – without data caps or annual service contracts. New customers can expect to see average download speeds of 100 Mbps, supporting streaming, zooming, remote learning, all at the same time.
T-Mobile Home Internet is available to anyone at an eligible address, regardless of whether they’re a current T-Mobile customer or not. To get started, customers can check whether their home is eligible by visiting t-mobile.com/isp.
The pandemic has heightened and highlighted the importance of reliable internet access at home. Fortunately, new efforts are helping to expand access where it’s needed most.
PHOTO SOURCE: (c) kupicoo / Getty Images