Lifeline Internet Discount in Boulder: Who Qualifies

calendar Nov 8, 2026 / · 9 min read · lifeline low-income internet centurylink  ·
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Lifeline is a federal discount of up to $9.25 a month on home internet for low-income households, and up to $34.25 a month for eligible subscribers on Tribal lands. You qualify through a benefit program like SNAP or Medicaid, or through your income. In Boulder, two home-service providers are listed as taking it: CenturyLink and Live Wire Networks. Xfinity is not a participating provider. Most Coloradans who could use the discount don't have it: as of September 2026, about 91,191 Coloradans were enrolled, while on average more than 550,000 qualify. If you rent, raise a family or study at CU on a tight budget, check whether you qualify before you choose a plan. The discount reaches you through the provider you sign up with, so that choice decides whether you can use it.

What Income-Qualified Households Need from Home Internet

The discount is largest on internet. Broadband service, or a bundle of phone and broadband, gets up to $9.25 a month off. Phone-only service gets up to $5.25. Colorado uses the same split: up to $9.25 on broadband or bundled service and up to $5.25 on voice-only service.

Each household gets one Lifeline benefit. It can go on a wireline service or a wireless one, so a Boulder household has to pick: the discount goes on the home internet bill or on a mobile plan, not on both.

A "household" means anyone who lives together at the same address as one economic unit. People in group living facilities can get Lifeline as separate households. Lifeline is available in every state, commonwealth and territory, and on Tribal lands, so a Boulder household goes through the same federal program as anyone else.

Who Qualifies

There are three routes: program participation, income, or being a survivor of domestic violence, human trafficking or related crimes.

Program participation. You qualify if you, or someone in your household, take part in any of these:

  • Medicaid
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly Food Stamps
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA), including the Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8 vouchers), Project-based Rental Assistance (PBRA), 202/811 housing and Public Housing
  • Affordable Housing Programs for American Indians, Alaska Natives, or Native Hawaiians
  • Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit

The household also qualifies if a child or dependent is in one of these programs.

Income. You qualify if your household income is at or below 135% of the 2026 Federal Poverty Guidelines. The limit depends on household size and state. Colorado uses the column for the 48 contiguous states, D.C. and the territories:

Household sizeIncome limit (48 contiguous states, D.C., territories)
1 person$21,546
2 people$29,214
3 people$36,882
4 people$44,550
5 people$52,218
6 people$59,886
7 people$67,554
8 people$75,222
Each additional personadd $7,668

Proof. You may be asked for proof when you apply. For a program, that means a benefit letter or other official document. For income, it means a tax return or three consecutive months of pay stubs. Lifeline confirms eligibility through a database or with documents dated within the past 12 months, so an old award letter won't work.

Survivors. A survivor can join Lifeline by providing proof of an attempted line separation request and by experiencing financial hardship. Survivors can qualify under the standard rules above or under extended criteria that apply to survivors only:

  • Household income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
  • Enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
  • Enrollment in the Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch or Breakfast program, including enrollment at a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school or district
  • A Federal Pell Grant received in the current award year

A qualifying survivor can get up to 6 months of emergency Lifeline support.

A Pell Grant counts only on the survivor route. A CU student on a Pell Grant who is not applying as a survivor needs another way in: SNAP, Medicaid or another listed program, or a household income under the 135% limit.

How to Apply

Applications go through the National Verifier, a central system set up by the FCC and run by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). It checks whether applicants qualify and rechecks subscribers every year. Colorado residents use it. Only Oregon and Texas send residents to their own state sites.

You can apply in three ways:

  1. Online, through the National Verifier.
  2. Through a participating phone or internet company, which can help with the application.
  3. By mail. Print the English or Spanish application and send it to Lifeline Support Center, PO Box 1000, Horseheads, NY 14845. The Support Center can mail you a form if you can't print one.

Once your application is approved, contact a participating phone or internet company and sign up. The discount comes off that company's bill. Approval alone does not lower any bill.

For help with the application, the Lifeline Support Center is at (800) 234-9473. It is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern, which is 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Boulder. Applicants with a disability who need help applying can call the same number. For a complaint or question about a Colorado provider, the PUC's Consumer Affairs Office takes calls at 303-894-2070, or 800-456-0858 from outside Denver.

Top Picks for Income-Qualified Households in Boulder

  • CenturyLink. It is listed as a Lifeline home-service carrier for Boulder ZIP codes 80301, 80302, 80304, 80305 and 80310. Its Lifeline customer service line is 800-201-4099. On CenturyLink's Lifeline page, the broadband discount applies only to service of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload or faster, and you get it by giving CenturyLink your confirmation number after USAC approves you. Colorado adds no state discount on top of the federal one. Before you sign up, call and ask which plans take the $9.25 discount and what the monthly bill is after it.

CenturyLink

DSL and fiber home internet — Lumen's legacy CenturyLink brand.

Visit CenturyLink →
  • Live Wire Networks. It is listed as a Lifeline home-service carrier for Boulder ZIP codes 80301, 80304 and 80305, at 866-913-5221. Neither 80302 nor 80310 has a Live Wire record, so households in those ZIPs should ask directly.

Live Wire Networks

Front Range fixed-wireless ISP covering Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior and neighbouring Denver-metro communities.

Visit Live Wire Networks →
  • A mobile Lifeline carrier. If the benefit fits a phone better than a home line, mobile Lifeline carriers are listed in Boulder too. Tempo Telecom, for example, has a mobile-service record for 80302. This uses up the household's one benefit, so the home internet bill stays at full price.
  • Xfinity, without Lifeline. Xfinity doesn't take the federal discount. Its own low-income plan, Internet Essentials, costs $14.95 a month for up to 75 Mbps or $29.95 a month for up to 100 Mbps. It is open to households at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level that haven't had Xfinity Internet in the last 90 days and owe Comcast no debt less than a year old. Professional installation costs extra. Enrolled households can also buy a new Dell laptop or Chromebook for $149.99 plus tax.

Xfinity

Cable and fiber home internet from Comcast.

Visit Xfinity →

None of the home-service records lists 80303. The Companies Near Me results don't show every company in an area, and a company can offer Lifeline without appearing there. A household in a ZIP with no record should call CenturyLink and Live Wire before deciding Lifeline isn't available at their address.

Setup Tips for Income-Qualified Households

  • Search by ZIP, then call. Companies Near Me searches by ZIP code or by city and state. Call a provider directly before ruling it out.
  • Have proof ready before you apply. Collect a benefit letter for SNAP, Medicaid, SSI or housing aid, or a tax return or three consecutive months of pay stubs for the income route. Check that each document is dated within the past 12 months.
  • Moving the benefit. You can switch phone or internet companies at any time. A transfer of the benefit can happen once a month.
  • Use free service. If your Lifeline service has no monthly fee, you must use it at least once every 30 days.
  • Watch for the recertification notice. The National Verifier rechecks eligibility every year. If USAC can confirm on its own that you still qualify, you don't need to do anything. If it can't, you'll get an email or a letter, and you then have 60 days to recertify or you lose the benefit.
  • Recertify by phone when no documents are needed. Call (855) 359-4299 and enter the application ID from your letter. This works only when you don't have to send proof.
  • Tell your provider if you stop qualifying. If your income goes up or you leave the program you qualified through, contact your provider right away to de-enroll. Otherwise you can face penalties.
  • Reapply if you lose it. If the benefit ends and you think you still qualify, you can reapply.

Bottom Line

If anyone in your Boulder household is on SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, federal housing aid or a Veterans Pension, or your income is under the 135% limit for your household size, apply through the National Verifier first. Then call CenturyLink at 800-201-4099 or Live Wire Networks at 866-913-5221 and ask for a home plan with the $9.25 discount, checking which ZIP codes each one is listed for. An income above 135% of the poverty guidelines closes only the income route: a household on one of the listed programs still qualifies through the program route, and a survivor can use the extended criteria. If your household misses every Lifeline route and Xfinity serves your address, compare Internet Essentials at $14.95 or $29.95 a month, which is open up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

References

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