2020, the year of household members dueling over internet access to prop up their work and school from home activities. Are you one of these household members in need of free wifi on Vashon? In need of a faster more reliable source for you or your children? Looking for a connection that’s disconnected from the house? Look no further; below you’ll find an inclusive list of WIFI connections available around the island.
Free Connectivity for Qualifying Families
Dependent on your home situation your family may be eligible to receive free home internet. If your child qualifies for free or reduced-priced meals at the school district and your house did not have internet access before August 2020 you can qualify for Washington’s K-12 Internet Access Program. This program allows students and their families internet access, at no cost, through June 30, 2021.
If you believe your family may qualify begin the process by contacting your child’s school office for a promo code. Once you have received your code you then can apply for internet access through either Comcast (this website available in seven different languages) or Presidio (Site in Spanish). If your family is not able to enroll through the Comcast or Presidio website, does not have an email, or does not have a shipping address please contact the school for additional support.
Connectivity Around the Island
There are many organizations on the island that continue to offer WIFI access even if their buildings have closed indefinitely due to COVID. Some have opened their doors just for this very purpose.
The Vashon Village Green has free WIFI access through the SSID named “xfinitywifi” – a close by Comcast Xfinity hotspot.
Nearby, the Vashon Library still has their WIFI running. This is accessible through their parking lot or nearby grassy yards.
All parking lots near the Vashon School District buildings provide free access as well. Simply join the SSID named “VCLOUD_GUEST” for access.
Camp Burton has been so generous as to open their lodge doors and connectivity access to the public. This service is temporarily suspended as the schools are on winter break, but they do intend to open back up again once school begins in January.
Additionally, Comcast has enabled free access to its home hotspots. Meaning that your neighbors can help provide free WIFI. To find the hotspot nearest you go here.
Cellular Hotspot
For families that qualify for free and reduced lunches at school, there is the ability to apply to borrow a cellular hotspot from the Vashon School District. Simply make an online request through their Family Helpdesk or fill out this application form and return it to your school’s office.
If your phone plan allows you to tether it to a computer, you can create a mobile hotspot to run your work and school from home activities. Here are directions for this process for phones operating off of a Verizon plan, T-mobile plan, and AT&T plan.
Low-Cost Internet
CenturyLink provides a discounted monthly service for qualified subscribers, coming in at $9.25 a month, under their Lifeline program. There are additional enhanced offerings for tribal consumers.
For roughly $10 a month, Comcast offers Internet Essentials for those that require affordable internet access at home.
Additional Resources
https://sites.google.com/vashonsd.org/onlineresources/community
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IQLN6NV1ljxEFyCuUXGaUboEGO_qoFZVWQ2ygipjSos/edit
