TruConnect: Emergency Broadband Benefit reinvigorates Lifeline

More than 825 broadband providers are taking part in the Federal Communications Commission’s new Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. One of the participants is TruConnect, a mobile virtual network operator that uses T-Mobile’s network. “Lifeline has been a terrific solution,” for getting communications into the hands of those who need it but can’t afford it, said Matthew Johnson, co-CEO of TruConnect, who runs the company with his brother Nathan Johnson. But it was frustrating during Covid-19. Los Angeles-based TruConnect has been in the business for over 10 years, and “we kept telling anyone who would listen, Lifeline is a solution to these connectivity problems. Add more funding to the Lifeline program,” and companies could provide a better solution, he said. TruConnect bills itself as the fourth largest Lifeline company and fastest growing in the US, with more than 600,000 customers nationwide. The brothers built the company through a combination of internal growth and acquisitions, including Telscape Communications, Sage Telecom, and TruConnect Mobile. Currently, TruConnect provides most customers with a free mobile handset that includes a hotspot so that they can connect to the internet, make phone calls and send texts. Most of that is free to the consumer.