In 2020 T-Mobile announced that it was starting Project 10Million which was created to help put disadvantaged students on a level playing field by giving them a free T-Mobile hotspot and allowing them to consume 200GB of free internet access per year for five years. To qualify for the free hotspot, parents must request it and have a student in K-12. They also have to show that their student(s) qualify for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) which offers free or reduced lunch to students or other programs including SNAP.
A Tik-Tok subscriber named Remmington Taylor (@remmingtontaylor) posted a video on the site about Project 10Million. According to the EdTech Innovation Hub, T-Mobile has disseminated 6 million free hotspots which leaves another 4 million left to be distributed. Taylor says in her video that all you need to provide T-Mobile with is a K-12 Student ID to get the free hotspot. You do not have to be a T-Mobile account holder to apply for the free hotspot and internet. Those of you in Puerto Rico, all you need to do is submit your student’s report card to qualify since all students in the commonwealth are enrolled in the NSLP.
Some responses to the video included one that said, “I currently have this for my car for like 5 months now!!!! We’re always on the road going somewhere so it works for my kid’s iPad and dead zones.” Another person told Taylor, “Just applied and was approved!!!! Just had to use my son’s report card. Thanks girl.” And yet another person replied, “I got mine a week before Hurricane Helene hit! And when my electricity and WiFi was in and out it came in clutch.”
@remmingtontaylor Tmobile hotspot
Originally, T-Mobile gave those receiving a hotspot 100GB of internet a year for five years before doubling that to 200MB of data starting last September. Once you’ve signed up for Project 10Million, you can buy these two devices at cost through your account or your nearest T-Mobile store:
- Samsung Chromebook 4
- TCL Tab 8 LE
Someone who said that she used to work for T-Mobile suggested that if you call the carrier and ask them to disconnect your account, they will offer you a free hotspot or tablet in order to keep you in the fold. If you have a child in K-12, scoring the free hotspot and service and buying one of the two devices at cost is probably easier. And you might have an easier time qualifying if you and your student live in a rural area without consistently high-quality internet service.
