THE EMPOWERED® 2.0 PROGRAM
Looking for information about our previous EmpowerED program? Get the details
The opportunity
Many families in the U.S. don’t have high-speed internet at home. This digital divide leaves many students without access to digital textbooks and other materials off-campus, often causing them to fall behind their peers with online access.
Because internet access is so critical to a modern education, we can help level the playing field by providing wireless devices and service plans for K-12 students in eligible schools through the EmpowerED 2.0 Program.
Program details
Sign a two-year contract on a qualifying unlimited plan for $20/month.
During congestion, customers on this plan using >50GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds until next bill cycle due to data prioritization. Video typically streams on smartphone/tablet at 480p. Unlimited on our network. See full terms
Count on planning, implementation, deployment support, and content filtering to help prevent access to inappropriate content.
Find out how we partnered with the Palm Springs Unified School District to give students and faculty members internet access in schools, community hangouts, and apartment complexes.
Application
We’re accepting applications from elementary, middle, and high schools across the U.S.
• 80% of the school’s geographic enrollment zone covered by T-Mobile 4G LTE. Check our coverage map.
• At least 40% of students receiving free or reduced lunch at each school.
• A high school dropout rate of 5% or more.
• At least 15% of students who are not grade-level proficient in math and reading by 9th grade.
We select participants based on the criteria, application, and interview described below. Program eligibility and approval is determined at our sole discretion.
1
Download.
Download and complete the application.
3
Interview.
Complete a phone interview once your application has been screened.
4
Verify.
You will receive notification once your application has been approved.
Your commitment
We’ll work with you to collect data to help measure the impact we’ve made.
Your school or district will need to commit to training relevant teachers and administrators on how to best utilize the devices and service.
Your school or district will also be asked to provide data by grade level, including ELA and math proficiency, and tardiness/attendance records.
Your school or district must conduct two anonymous online surveys about student technology usage created by us: one prior to receiving access and one at the end of the school year.
School districts nationwide that meet the following criteria are eligible to participate in this program:
Required:
Preferred:
Yes, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.
No, the program is available for students in grades K-12, as long as all school sites meet all eligibility criteria.
The minimum number of students served from each school or district is 25. The maximum number of students will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
All schools/districts will receive planning, implementation, and deployment support.
Yes. EmpowerED 2.0 participants may choose one of these two options at no additional charge: (1) Web Guard to filter http web page content on our network; or (2) a product which can filter even secured (https) traffic at the domain level. Schools that do not use a T-Mobile-facilitated filter thereby acknowledge that they will provide their own CIPA-compliant filter on all EmpowerED devices for the duration of their use.
Note: Schools have the option to utilize the T-Mobile filtering or secure their own filter that completes their needs.
Yes, school districts or individual schools are required to participate in the program for 24 months.
All participants in this program will be required to submit annual or biannual reports to T-Mobile. Reports will contain quantitative and qualitative data to measure the effectiveness of increased access on student achievement. LEAs or individual schools shall provide data that it already collects through standardized testing or benchmark reports. All reports submitted to T-Mobile should not include any student names, and the LEA or school should incorporate anonymous identifiers where necessary. In addition, teachers, administrators, students, and parents will be required to participate in anonymous biannual surveys used to measure perception, adoption, and support/resistance levels to the program.
Two discounted education rate plans are available:
During congestion, customers on this plan using >50GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds until next bill cycle due to data prioritization. Video typically streams on T-Mobile device at DVD quality (480p).
No. The lines of service through this program are intended to support off-campus use and are not eligible for discounts from the E-Rate program. For more information about E-Rate programs, including eligible services, see (http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/beforeyoubegin/eligible-services-list.aspx).
No. Schools that select E-Rate with T-Mobile are not eligible for EmpowerED 2.0. Similarly, T-Mobile will not be able to serve as your E-Rate provider if you are selected for EmpowerED 2.0.
This is a multi-year program and applications are being accepted on an ongoing basis.
T-Mobile will send the primary contact a confirmation email acknowledging receipt of the application.
Applications will require at least 7-14 business days to review. If the application meets all eligibility criteria, T-Mobile will contact the applicant directly via email to schedule a phone interview.
Please contact us via email at EmpowerED@t-mobile.com.
Yes. Students must be permitted to take home the devices offered through EmpowerED 2.0.