Working out of Rhode Island, Delaware and Florida, Providence-based Capital Good Fund employees are often on the road and in need of reliable internet access.
After the recent Equifax data breach, the nonprofit loan agency’s CEO, Andy Posner, said it’s “important to … ensure protection from hacking” and not have employees rely on “unprotected Wi-Fi at a Starbucks,” while on the road.
Enter Mobile Beacon – a Johnston-based internet service provider, which offers discounted internet access to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations – or what they call “anchor institutions” – across the United States.
While Capital Good Fund uses Cox Communications for in-office Wi-Fi, over the past seven years it has purchased Mobile Beacon hotspots for traveling employees for one “simple reason” said Posner, “There is no other company out there offering unlimited 4G for $10 per month.”
Katherine Messier, Mobile Beacon executive director, believes providing internet access to nonprofit organizations is the best way to increase use among the general public.
“Each anchor institution has their own implementation strategy [to reach the most people] and our programs support” their grassroots work, she said of Mobile Beacon’s discounted 4G rate and history of technology donation.
Mobile Beacon’s flagship service – touted on their website as “4G Access. 4 Nonprofits. 4 Less.” – is unlimited 4G LTE internet at 6 to 8 megabits per second for $10 per month for all LTE-enabled devices purchased through the company. Mobile Beacon sells 4G LTE mobile hotspots and modems.
In addition to nonprofits, Mobile Beacon offers its services to schools and libraries. Part of its reach within the Ocean State is due to TechSoup, its donation program that gives nonprofits up to 11 4G LTE mobile hotspots per fiscal year.
Of the 6,617 Rhode Island nonprofits, according to 2016 data gathered by Washington, D.C.-based charitable membership organization Independent Sector, by Mobile Beacon’s count, it contracts with 28 Rhode Island nonprofits using 130 hotspots. Nationally, Mobile Beacon reports servicing 8,594 nonprofits that use approximately 21,000 hotspots.
Most internet service providers have “moved away from unlimited plans,” often capping what customers can access within a month’s billing period, said Messier. “Our service isn’t like that, it’s truly unlimited.”
In April 2012, internet provider Verizon, in partnership with contract purchasing company National Purchasing Partners, announced a similar discount service for nonprofit members of Seattle-based NPP. Qualifying nonprofit members can receive up to 15 percent off eligible calling plans of $34.99 or higher, up to 25 percent off accessories and other discounts on equipment, according to the release.
A Cox spokesperson said the company counts nonprofits and schools among its clients and “create[s] optimal solutions for their needs, paying close attention to value and the customer experience.” He did not answer questions regarding a special price for such groups.
To better understand service use by its customers, in 2016 Mobile Beacon commissioned a poll that sampled a random 2,508 customer organizations, including schools and libraries, and received 443 responses.
Eighty-four percent of all respondents said uncapped data was “very important” or “essential” to their mission, according to survey findings, and 86 percent reported needing more data than what they could afford through capped programs.
Currently, 67 percent of Mobile Beacon’s nonprofit customers utilize the service for community outreach, travel and off-site meetings/trainings, whereas the remaining one-third rely on it as their primary internet connection or as a supplement.
‘No other company [is] … offering unlimited 4G for $10 per month.’
ANDY POSNER, Capital Good Fund CEO
Forty-one percent of nonprofit respondents use Mobile Beacon’s services to provide internet access to their community. Providence-based College Unbound, an accredited bachelor’s degree completion program for underserved, incarcerated and low-income adults, is one example.
Housed in the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, College Unbound receives internet from the school, which does not utilize Mobile Beacon’s services. However, between fall 2013 and February 2015, College Unbound received a total of 50 laptops and 10 modems free of charge via Mobile Beacon’s 12-month Connect for Success grant.
Tracy Money, vice president of strategic planning at College Unbound, said without the donation, many of the students would not have been able to complete their assignments.
By February 2015, she recounted, 47 of 70 College Unbound enrollees were using the donated laptops and modems – “a substantial, significant portion,” she said.
A Mobile Beacon spokeswoman said College Unbound did not renew the grant after that time. Since 2015, Money said College Unbound’s technology budget has been stretched thin.
This year, the organization purchased five “cheap” loaner laptops from Goodwill for use by the approximately 100 students enrolled for the fall semester, said Money, and all had been loaned out as of mid-September.
Without continued help from firms such as Mobile Beacon, she added, College Unbound will “scramble” to provide internet access to underserved populations.
