An update on Verizon’s EBB program
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May 19 Update
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon strongly supports the FCC’s EBB program, and we believe in giving our customers a wide range of choices to best fit their needs. To get our program up and running quickly, Verizon made all current Fios Mix & Match plans eligible for participants in the EBB.
We believe our current in market Fios Mix & Match plans, which over one million customers enjoy today, offer the most choice at the best value. These plans include no extra fees and the ability to pay only for what’s needed. However, we heard from some customers that they prefer to stay on the legacy plans they have. Moving forward, we will offer customers on legacy Fios plans (no longer in market today) the ability to enroll in EBB.
We are not asking customers to upgrade their plan in order to take advantage of the EBB benefits. Our goal is to help eligible customers find the plan that best meets their needs.
May 17 Update
The FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB) is already helping Verizon customers save money on their monthly broadband and wireless service. In less than a week, we have already successfully enrolled nearly 1,000 customers in the program.
To give our customers a wide range of choices, while also facilitating our ability to get our program up and running quickly, Verizon made all current Mix & Match plans eligible for participants in the EBB. As part of Verizon’s offering, some eligible customers who were on older plans will need to transition to an EBB-eligible Mix & Match plan to take advantage of the EBB benefit. With these plans, the vast majority of customers save money on their monthly bill. For example, eligible customers could choose a Mix & Match plan offering 200 Mbps download and upload internet speeds for just $54.99, including a router and no additional fees. With the $50 EBB discount, that customer would pay just $5.
Under the Mix & Match plan offerings, customers are seeing an average $25 per month savings when switching from an older plan. With the $50 monthly EBB savings, most customers can realize savings of about $75 each month depending on the services they choose to include.
During this pandemic, at a time when internet connectivity is more important than ever, our goal is to give customers choices for reliable EBB-supported services at an affordable price point. Unlike our competitors who continue to sell bundled plans, we do not. With our Mix & Match plans, we allow our customers to pay only for what they need, and not for what they don't. While some providers include charges for extra sports & broadcast fees, Mix & Match plans do not include additional fees.
Our customer support teams are available via phone to help guide eligible customers through this process and choose the best and most affordable option available based on the speed, price, and needs of the customer. We are not asking customers to upgrade; our goal is to help eligible customers save money during this critical period and find the plan that best meets their needs.
Eligible plans, which are based on the market pricing of plans as of December 1st, 2020 per the EBB program rules, can be found here. For additional information about Verizon’s efforts to help bridge the digital divide, please visit here.
