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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Emma Munbodh

Households offered one year free unlimited broadband during covid pandemic

Parents across London can get free broadband for a year to help teach their children from home.

Broadband supplier Community Fibre is offering a free 100% full-fibre 50Mbps internet connection to parents and children from low income households.

The free service will be provided for 12 months and comes at no cost to the bill payer.

At the end of the free period, households can choose to pay to keep the service or cancel it by returning the router.

Graeme Oxby, chief executive of Community Fibre, said: "We already provide homes in 18 London boroughs with fibre connectivity and many of these will be eligible to take advantage of this offer if they are classified as vulnerable by their landlords or local councils.

Community Fibre already provides network coverage across many London boroughs, supporting families at risk of poverty (Getty)

"Our mission is to bring better broadband to London communities and we always look for opportunities to give back to those we serve.

"It is critical to enable those who are homeschooling but struggling with slow connections or no connection to benefit from fast, reliable full-fibre broadband to help as many children as possible to continue their education and prepare their future."

Community Fibre already provides network coverage across many London boroughs, supporting families at risk of poverty.

It is currently available in Brent, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster.

Those that aren't eligible may be able to claim support from one of two broadband tariffs designed for households on low incomes, instead (Getty Images)

It's available through partnerships with landlords - including local authorities and housing associations. You can check if you qualify, here.

Those that aren't eligible may be able to claim support from one of two broadband tariffs designed for households on low incomes, instead.

Virgin Media's new Essentials broadband plan is available to those facing financial difficulty - including families who are struggling in the wake of the pandemic.

It offers speeds of 15Mbps to those on Universal Credit.

The deal is similar to BT's basic phone and broadband package, which was launched in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and is and capped at £20.70 a month.

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However, the BT deal is only available to those who are completely out of work.

BT's basic phone package costs £5.16 a month and includes a call allowance of £1.50, plus free weekend calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers (lasting up to 60 minutes).

The tariff also includes a monthly £10 price cap on numbers starting 01, 02, 03, 07 and 08, meaning you'll never pay more than £15.16.

It's available to anyone on income support, jobseeker's allowance, pension credits, employment and support allowance and Universal credit - but to claim it you must be completely out of work.

BT also offers a broadband option for those who need access to the internet.

BT Basic plus Broadband costs £10.07 per month.

The package includes the BT Basic £1.50 call allowance and a £10 monthly call price cap.

For both phone and broadband, the cap is £20.70 a month.

There is no connection charge, however customers will need to pay postage and packaging for their BT Home Hub, which is required for BT broadband to work.

To apply for the package, you'll need to be an existing BT account holder.

You can contact the telecoms provider on 0800 800 864 between 8am and 6pm on a weekday and they'll send out an application form.

The form is just one page, which asks for simple information such as your address, date of birth, National Insurance number, and any benefits you receive.

Elsewhere, mobile networks including BT, Virgin Media, O2, EE and Three are all offering free extras to help those working - and teaching - from home.

See what support you're entitled to, here.

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