New affordable internet option available on the MS Coast. Here’s who’s eligible

The broadband provider Sparklight said this week it would start offering $30 a month internet service to Mississippi Coast customers who qualify for some federal assistance programs.

The service, announced Wednesday, comes almost a year after the federal government ended what was known as the Affordable Connectivity Program, which offered high-speed internet discounts for low-income households.

The Sparklight service is called Lift Internet. The company said it includes a free modem, installation and no credit check for customers who qualify for federal programs including Medicaid, Social Security Disability Income, SNAP benefits and unemployment compensation.

It is the latest sign of efforts to expand internet access across Mississippi.

After the state Legislature passed a law in 2019 allowing electric cooperatives to offer high speed internet, Coast Electric and Singing River expanded. CoastConnect, a subsidiary of Coast Electric, now serves rural customers in Harrison, Hancock and Pearl River counties and has said it hopes to have all Coast Electric areas in service by 2026.

Singing River Connect, a subsidiary of Singing River Electric, is also expanding high-speed fiber internet service through its coverage area and has been installing fiber internet lines this spring in Gautier.

Other companies have made similar efforts. AT&T, another provider that services the Coast, also offers low-cost internet plans to customers who qualify for some federal assistance programs or whose household income is below 200% of federal poverty guidelines.

Those programs could see greater demand amid rising costs this year after the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program. That program had enrolled 23 million households across the country, according to the Federal Communications Commission, but ended last year after it ran out of funding from Congress.

Most areas across the three coastal counties now have broadband access or are funded to receive it, according to the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi.

In Mississippi, 81.9 percent of households have a broadband subscription compared to the national average of 89.7 percent, according to Census data.

This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.