Internet Resources

WiFi Access for McLennan Students & Employees

McLennan Community College is fortunate to be able to offer our students and employees internet access between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. through WiFi in parking lot E in front of the Highlands Gym on campus. In order to maintain social distancing, users must remain in their vehicles or at least 6 feet away from other individuals. Campus Police will be patrolling the area and are available by phone at any time of the day or night at 254-299-8911.

Here are instructions for WiFi access:

  • You must be a McLennan student or employee.
  • You must have a McLennan user account.
  • On your computer, phone, laptop, etc., you will need to find the option for connecting to WiFi.
  • If you are a student, you will select the “MCC” wireless network.
    • If you are an employee, you will select “Mclennan” wireless network.
  • Once the connection is made, open a web page through your web browser.
  • You will be directed to McLennan’s Web Portal login page.
    • If you do not see McLennan’s Web Portal login page when you open a browser, type into the address bar a website address you do not usually use like www.msnbc.com.
  • You will use the log-in information you use for Brightspace, WebAdvisor, campus computers, etc.
  • After you have completed these steps, you should have WiFi access.
    • Please only use this Internet access for McLennan coursework or business related to McLennan.

For questions or if you have problems logging in to the WiFi, please contact Tech Support at helpdesk@mclennan.edu or 254-299-8077 (after hours 254-717-6349).

City of Waco: offers free WiFi 24/7 in the parking lots of the Waco Convention Center, and free Wi-Fi in the parking lots of each Library branch from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services – Information on free internet services.

FCC agreement stating that providers will waive late fees, not cutoff service for lack of payment, and open hot-spots.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households. 

Comcast COVID-19 response: offers free WiFi for 2 months to low-income families plus all Xfinity hot-spots are free to the public during this time

Charter Free Internet offer for 2 months

To ease the strain in this challenging time, beginning Monday, March 16, Charter commits to the following for 60 days:

Charter will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. Charter will partner with school districts to ensure local communities are aware of these tools to help students learn remotely. Charter will continue to offer Spectrum Internet Assist, high-speed broadband program to eligible low-income households delivering speeds of 30 Mbps. Charter will open its Wi-Fi hotspots across our footprint for public use. Spectrum does not have data caps or hidden fees.

AT&T COVID-19 response: offers open hot-spots, unlimited data to existing customers, and $10/month plans to low-income families

Verizon COVID-19 response: no special offers, but following the FCC agreement.

Sprint COVID-19 response: follows FCC agreement, provides unlimited data to existing customers, and, starting Tuesday, 3/17/2020, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.

T-Mobile COVID-19 response: follows FCC agreement, plus unlimited data to existing customers, and, coming soon, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge. 

Grande Internet First program provides 25Mbps internet at $9.95 per month for qualifying households. The program also includes the following:

  • First 60 days FREE
  • No contracts
  • No installation fees
  • Modem included
  • Free standard WiFi included

To qualify, the household must meet  the following criteria:

  • Families must reside in a Grande serviceable area
  • Are a participant in public assistance programs like the National School Lunch Program, housing assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, and others
  • Have not subscribed to Grande services within the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to applying for the program.
  • Name on the bill must match the name of the household member participating the Internet First program  

Also, applications have to be done through the website www.internetfirst.com as the program requires applicants to upload documents such as a copy of their ID and proof of assistance. If an applicant does not have online access they can fill in the attached form and mail it along with the additional documents to the address below. Once Grande receives the completed application, customers can then call 833-730-0644 from 9 a.m.- 8 p.m., seven days a week, to check the status of their application. 

Internet First
Quality Assurance Department
East Mountain Corporate Center
100 Baltimore Drive
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702

 Please note that the offer for this program does end May 31, 2020.