Almost 40% of Sonoma County Households are Eligible for Free Internet Service, but only One-Tenth Have Signed Up

Roughly 71,600 Sonoma County households could have free high-speed internet service via a federal subsidy program, yet only about 10% of those who are eligible have enrolled. Marin and Napa counties have similarly low enrollment.  In Mendocino and Lake counties, where more than half of households qualify for the discount aimed at low-income residents, only 13% and 26% have signed up, respectively.  For better or worse, internet access has increasingly become a necessity to function and interact in our world, a process rapidly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.