Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — As of July 5th, just over 500 households in American Samoa have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, administered by the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC), according to FCC public data.

The new initiative is to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will allow eligible households to connect via the internet to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more, according to a previous FCC statement reported on by Samoa News.

FCC data shows that as of July 5th, a total of 501 households in American Samoa have enrolled in the EBB program, but the amount disbursed was not yet available. The territory’s two telecom providers, American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority and Bluesky Communications, are participant providers in the federal program.

Nation-wide, FCC data shows more than 3.3 million households have enrolled since the program was launched in mid May.

For more information and to enroll online [https://www.getemergencybroadband.org]. Households can also contact their telecom provider for more information.