Looking for free broadband in Southern California? Here’s how to find it

Lower-income Americans now have more options for free high-speed internet access, including at least eight providers that serve Southern California. The federal government launched the Affordable Connectivity Program at the end of 2021 to provide $30-per-month subsidies for households with incomes no more than twice the federal poverty level. On May 9, the White House revealed that 20 broadband providers across the country, including five of the largest cable TV and telephone companies, had agreed to provide “sufficiently high-speed” connections at no more than $30 a month to qualifying homes. Eight of those serve communities in Southern California: AT&T, Comcast, Cox, Frontier, Mediacom, Spectrum, Starry and Verizon. Eliminating the cost of a broadband connection removes just one of the barriers to wider internet adoption, however. Sunne Wright McPeak, head of the California Emerging Technology Fund, said other hurdles include the need for a smart device and the know-how required to use it. The biggest problem, though, may be that most of the people eligible for subsidies aren’t aware of or interested in them. For example, nearly half of households in Los Angeles County have incomes low enough to qualify for the federal subsidy, McPeak said, but less than a quarter of that group has signed up. And it could be difficult to reach the remainder; they’re not likely to see a broadband provider’s online advertisements touting the subsidies, for example. Here’s how to tell whether you qualify for the subsidies and which broadband providers offer them.