Spectrum Internet and Mobile for Seniors

Spectrum does not offer a specific internet deal for senior citizens. However, senior citizens who qualify for certain government assistance programs (or have someone in the household who does) are eligible to sign up for Spectrum Internet Assist plans.

The Spectrum Internet Assist plan provides 50Mbps speeds for $25 a month. While the speed is pretty slow, it’s sufficient for home internet necessities, like making video calls or online shopping.

There’s also the Spectrum Internet Advantage plan, which provides twice the speed for just $5 more. For the first year, anyway. After that, the cost goes up by at least $20 for a grand total of $50+ monthly.

To sign up for Assist or Advantage plans, someone in the household needs to be enrolled in one of the following:

• Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the NSLP
• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

For senior citizens who don’t qualify for these discounted plans, it’s worth looking into the Lifeline Assistance Program. Qualifying senior citizens receive up to $30 a month to put towards internet and mobile services.

Like Spectrum Internet, Spectrum Mobile does not offer free or discounted senior cell phone plans. But it still sells affordable cell phone plans worth looking into. (However, you can only sign up for Spectrum Mobile if you already have or are buying Spectrum Internet.)

The By the Gig plan is an excellent deal for senior citizens who mainly use their phones as phones—that is, for calling people. The included data also facilitates light texting, web sleuthing, and GPSing. You can even pay $5 more for a second GB and still get a bargain.

However, for senior citizens who use more than 2GB in a month, the $30 Unlimited plan is a better deal. It includes unlimited data, so seniors can do anything they want online without limits. While speeds do slow down at 30GB, according to data from HighSpeedInternet.com, many cell phone users need only about 10GB in a whole month. In other words, Unlimited plan users shouldn’t have to worry about slowdowns. They’re unlikely to see their Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang pace impeded.

And if these options are still too expensive, once again, it’s worth looking into the Lifeline Assistance Program for help, although you can only use the benefit for either phone or internet, not both.

Spectrum offers a few different deals that lower the cost of its services.

Customers who sign up for autopay get $5 off their internet bill each month. And that’s not all. Right now, Spectrum Internet customers who sign up for Spectrum Mobile get 12 months of Unlimited at no charge. You read right—that includes a whole year of Spectrum cell phone service.

If Spectrum Internet sounds like the deal of your dreams, the first step is to make sure it’s available at your address.