BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starry, Inc. (the “Company” or “Starry”), a next generation licensed fixed wireless internet service provider, today announced a partnership with Caritas Communities, an organization that helps house low-income individuals and families that have faced homeless in the Boston metropolitan area, to provide its Starry Connect program to 147 households across three communities. Residents can sign up for Starry Connect’s high-speed, uncapped home broadband service for $15 per month with no data caps, no long-term contracts, no credit checks, no extra fees for equipment, free installation and 24/7 world-class customer support. Starry’s service is currently available at Park View Apartments at 81-85 Westland Avenue in Boston, Cortes Apartments at 7 and 11-15 Cortes Street in Boston, the Worchester House at 186 Marlborough Street in Boston and 423 Eastern Avenue in Chelsea, with more buildings in Caritas Communities’ portfolio slated to come online this year.
Caritas Communities’ residents can opt-into the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides a subsidy of up to $30 per month towards broadband access for eligible households. For residents that sign up for Starry’s service and opt-into the ACP program, that benefit can cover the entire cost of broadband service for the household while the program remains in effect.
“Having access to reliable, high-speed internet can be a great equalizer, providing a critical bridge to economic and educational opportunities,” said Virginia Lam Abrams, Starry’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Strategic Advancement. “But, the high costs of home broadband remains an insurmountable barrier for too many families. Starry is proud to partner with Caritas to provide an ultra-low-cost, high-quality broadband solution to its communities to help ensure that every Caritas resident has the opportunity to fully participate in and benefit from digital connectivity.”
“This is an amazing resource for our residents,” said Karin Cassel Mitterando, Caritas Communities’ Executive Director. “It’s becoming nearly impossible to function without broadband internet access. Job applications and access to many benefit programs, including emergency rental assistance, require online applications. With the help of Starry, our residents are taking advantage of current government programs and obtaining high speed service at no cost. It’s a game-changer.”
Caritas Communities aims to prevent homelessness by providing very low-income individuals in the greater Boston metro area with permanent housing and support. The organization has 33 buildings in 17 communities across Boston that account for nearly 1,000 homes. Seventy percent of their residents have experienced homelessness at some point and 51% of their residents arrived at Caritas directly from homelessness.
In the United States, 43% of adults with lower incomes do not have home broadband services according to the Pew Research Center. In Boston, the Center for Internet as Infrastructure estimates that 15% of households lack a home broadband subscription. Affordability remains a top barrier to home internet adoption with 50% of non-broadband subscribers citing high prices as the reason they lack service.
Starry launched its Starry Connect program in 2018 to help close the digital divide by partnering directly with public and affordable housing owners to provide an affordable and low-barrier broadband option to their residents. Starry Connect provides ultra-low-cost broadband service to public and affordable housing residents without requiring credit checks, long-term contracts, individual eligibility requirements (such as household participation in SNAP, WIC or Medicaid) or a lengthy application process to participate. This innovative approach to removing broadband adoption barriers earned Starry designation as a ConnectHomeUSA stakeholder through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2019.
Starry Connect broadband plans start at $15 per month for 30 Mbps symmetrical speeds without a credit check or signing a long-term contract. Additional speed tiers available in Starry Connect communities include a $30 per month plan for 100 Mbps download, 50 Mbps upload and a $50 per month plan for 200 Mbps download, 100 Mbps upload.
Nationally, the Starry Connect program covers more than 55,000 units of public and affordable housing across New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Columbus, DC and Northern Virginia. Starry counts the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), Brookline Housing Authority, Cambridge Housing Authority, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), Denver Housing Authority, Innovative Housing Concepts (Englewood CO Housing Authority) and Metro West Housing Solutions (Lakewood CO Housing Authority) as public housing partners. In addition, Starry also works with nonprofit and privately-owned affordable housing owners such as Related Affordable, Spring Creek Towers, Beacon Communities, Schochet Properties, Neighborhood Developers, and many others.
Starry Internet is available in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Denver and Columbus, OH, with an expansion roadmap that will cover more than 40 million households across the United States. To learn more about Starry, Starry Connect, or sign-up for Starry service, visit https://starry.com.
About Starry, Inc.
At Starry, Inc. (“Starry”), we believe the future is built on connectivity and that connecting people and communities to high-speed, broadband internet should be simple and affordable. Using our innovative, wideband hybrid-fiber fixed wireless technology, Starry is deploying gigabit capable broadband to the home without bundles, data caps, or long-term contracts. Starry is a different kind of internet service provider. We’re building a platform for the future by putting our customers first, protecting their privacy, ensuring access to an open and neutral net, and making affordable connectivity and digital equity a priority. Headquartered in Boston and backed by world-class investors, Starry is currently available in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Denver and Columbus and is expanding nationwide. To learn more about Starry or to join our team and help us build a better internet, visit: https://starry.com.
About Caritas Communities
Caritas Communities prevents homelessness by providing very low-income individuals with permanent housing, support, a sense of community, and expanded opportunities. For more than 36 years, Caritas has helped fill the need for safe, secure housing in Greater Boston. Caritas owns and operates 33 buildings in 17 Greater Boston communities, serving more than 1,000 individuals annually. Caritas provides on-site supportive services, emergency rental assistance, Veterans-specific housing and services, and on-site property management. Caritas enables people working for low hourly wages, Veterans experiencing post-service challenges, and low-income elderly and disabled citizens to live in a clean, safe home that they can afford. Caritas Communities’ is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit housing provider. To learn more, please go to www.caritascommunities.org.
