Compudopt and Microsoft have launched a free internet program in Goodyear and El Mirage that will connect 425 qualifying West Valley households with one year of no-cost service, a portable 5G router, and unlimited data. Residents who qualify apply at compudopt.org without submitting documentation; once the free year ends, service continues through Compudopt Connect 5G Internet at $20 per month, with no restriction on taking the router to a new address.
The two cities were selected in part because a similar Compudopt effort in Atlanta had already proved the model worked. They also happen to be the exact two Arizona municipalities where Microsoft operates its West US 3 Azure cloud region, a datacenter cluster the company has invested more than a billion dollars to build.
How the Program Works
Applicants answer a short questionnaire to confirm their Goodyear or El Mirage residency. No supporting documents are required, though the form asks whether applicants receive certain federal benefits or meet income guidelines, criteria Compudopt uses internally to prioritize households among the program’s available slots. There is no fee at any point during the free year.
Michelle Kari, the Mesa program director for Compudopt, described the router’s core advantage for families in rental housing:
Once you get your router, you connect it to electricity and you’re done. If they move, they just disconnect their router and take it with them.
That portability was a deliberate design choice, built for renters who might relocate during the program period. The service runs on Compudopt Connect’s 5G network, which means the connection doesn’t depend on cable or fiber infrastructure at a fixed address, and there is no installation appointment or technician visit required.
- One year of free internet on Compudopt Connect’s 5G network
- A portable router provided at no cost
- Unlimited data, with no monthly cap disclosed
- No documentation requirement during eligibility screening
- An option to continue at a low monthly rate after the free year ends
Microsoft’s Two Arizona Towns
Goodyear and El Mirage aren’t generic picks from a list of underserved communities. Microsoft operates a five-building datacenter campus across more than 300 acres in Goodyear, a project valued at $1.5 billion, and separately acquired 283 acres in El Mirage for additional facilities. Both campuses anchor the company’s West US 3 Azure cloud region, launched in June 2021, serving enterprise customers running Microsoft cloud services across the western United States.
The Goodyear campus required its own municipal infrastructure deal. In March 2026, Microsoft and the city signed an agreement under which Microsoft committed $36 million toward expansion of the 157th Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant, securing the datacenter’s long-term water supply.
Community investment has tracked alongside that construction. According to Microsoft’s community development summary for the West Valley, the company has supported 93 projects with 60 partners in the Phoenix West Valley since 2019, with total investment exceeding $3 million. The company separately estimates its Arizona datacenters generated $845 million in regional economic activity from 2018 to 2023. Microsoft has formalized this commitment through what it calls its Community-First Infrastructure Initiative, a pledge to ensure its datacenters benefit the residential communities around them, not only the enterprise customers on the network.
The Compudopt program is the company’s most direct resident-facing act in those specific ZIP codes. Kari attributed site selection plainly: “Microsoft and Compudopt selected these two cities to receive this one-year internet program.”
A Connectivity Gap in Fast-Growing Suburbs
The West Valley’s suburban corridor is growing faster than most of Arizona’s core cities. Surprise, just north of the program’s two target cities, added more than 7,700 residents in a single year, a 4.6% annual growth rate, per Census Bureau data published in May 2026 by the Arizona Capitol Times. Phoenix’s year-over-year growth rate for the same period was 0.2%. Fast population growth without matching infrastructure investment is where connectivity gaps form: the newer the development, the less likely it is to have broadband built into the lease or neighborhood agreement.
- 23 million households lost their $30 monthly broadband subsidy when the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) expired June 1, 2024, with no full federal replacement enacted
- 75% of Hispanic adults in the U.S. subscribe to home broadband, compared with 83% to 84% for white and Asian adults, per Pew Research Center’s 2024 survey
- $20/month for unlimited 5G service on Compudopt Connect, beginning after the program’s free year
Before the ACP ended, qualifying households received up to $30 per month in subsidy and a one-time $100 equipment voucher. Those payments brought many bills down to near zero. No equivalent has replaced them at the federal level. Kari put the gap in concrete terms: “Kids can’t do homework, families can’t register for school, schedule health care appointments or access important services. Connectivity is very crucial at this time.”
From Atlanta to Maricopa County
The Atlanta Blueprint
Compudopt’s Atlanta expansion, which began in 2021, is the operational template the West Valley program follows. The nonprofit entered the city after estimating that more than 500,000 individuals in the Atlanta metro lacked an in-home computer. Santander Consumer USA funded the formal launch with a $7 million investment in 2023, part of a broader $35 million Compudopt-Santander partnership that ultimately helped the nonprofit expand into 60 additional cities.
By the time Compudopt tallied its Atlanta figures, the program had 4,907 active connected families in the city. One deployment wired The Commons, a 458-unit apartment complex, at the infrastructure level rather than routing portable routers unit by unit. That approach compressed the timeline and gave the organization a replicable model for high-density housing that portable-router programs alone couldn’t match.
Megan Steckly, Compudopt’s chief executive officer, has framed the organization’s view of the problem in direct terms: “The digital divide is an incredibly solvable problem, but we have to start at the source: device accessibility.”
Compudopt’s National Footprint
| Location | Operational Status | Program Model |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | Full operations since 2021 | Infrastructure wiring + portable devices |
| Mesa, AZ | Full operations | Device distribution + connectivity |
| Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio | Full operations | Device distribution + digital training |
| Goodyear and El Mirage, AZ | Pilot program, 425 households | Portable 5G router, first year no-cost |
The nonprofit now serves more than 30,000 families per year across its full-operations cities. A November 2025 BusinessWire report marking Compudopt’s one-million-person milestone put cumulative totals at 160,000 devices distributed, 344,000 hours of technology education delivered, 51,000 households connected to the internet, and 711,000 pounds of hardware diverted from landfills. The organization was founded in 2007.
Mesa already sits on the full-operations list, giving Compudopt an established base in Maricopa County. Carlos, a first-generation college student from Mesa who received a free device through the program, enrolled in a computer science degree and now works part time for Compudopt supporting Arizona outreach. The Goodyear and El Mirage pilot extends that footprint southwest into the corridor where Microsoft’s datacenter campuses sit.
Kari made her ask to Microsoft explicit: “Hopefully Microsoft sees the need and says, ‘We want to provide more connectivity,’ and continue serving communities in the West Valley and throughout Maricopa County.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for the free internet in Goodyear and El Mirage?
Residents of Goodyear or El Mirage, Arizona can apply. No documentation is required to start. The eligibility form asks whether applicants receive certain federal benefits or meet income guidelines, and Compudopt uses those responses to prioritize applicants among the program’s 425 available spots. Residency in one of the two cities is the core requirement.
How do I apply for the Compudopt-Microsoft free internet program?
Applicants complete a short online questionnaire at compudopt.org confirming their Goodyear or El Mirage residency. The process takes only a few minutes and requires no supporting documents. Once eligibility is confirmed, Compudopt ships the portable 5G router directly to the household, and setup requires only plugging the router into a power outlet.
What happens to my internet service after the free year ends?
At the end of the 12-month period, participants can choose to continue through Compudopt Connect 5G Internet at $20 per month, with the same unlimited data and the same portable router. There is no obligation to continue, and participants are free to switch to any other provider at any point after the free year.
Can I keep my router if I move during the program?
Yes. The router runs on 5G wireless and doesn’t require a fixed cable connection at a specific address. Unplug it at the old home, take it to the new one, and reconnect it to an outlet. Compudopt built this portability into the program design specifically for renters who may relocate during the free year, so a move doesn’t reset or cancel eligibility.
Is there a data cap on the free internet service?
Compudopt Connect’s 5G network provides unlimited data. No monthly cap or throttling threshold has been disclosed in the program materials for either the free year or the $20 monthly plan available afterward.
The application is open at compudopt.org now; the free year begins when the router ships.
