Tim Malema
daily yonder
One in five Kenton County households could have to pay more for internet access by the end of April as federal programs supporting affordable broadband for low-income households run out of funding There is.
Approximately 13,500 of Kenton County’s 67,400 households currently receive $30 per month from the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), according to Federal Communications Commission data.
ACP was established as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and is designed to help improve broadband access for households as schools, workplaces, health care, and other services move increasingly online.
The FCC announced that funding for the program would run out by the end of April because the bill included only one-time payments. The agency stopped accepting new applications for the program in February.
Anna M. Gomez, a new member of the Federal Communications Commission, said 23 million American households would lose benefits if the program expired. Approximately 445,000 Kentucky households are at risk of losing benefits.
“Millions of households will have to make difficult decisions about whether they will pay for the connections they need to get to work, school and health care, or put food on the table,” Gomez said in a video statement.
Comes committee member (photo provided)
A bill has been introduced in the House and Senate to authorize an additional $7 billion for the ACP. Not a single Kentucky lawmaker was among the bipartisan group of 180 House members and three senators who co-sponsored the bill.
To qualify for ACP, a household must have an income less than twice the federal poverty level or participate in other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid.
The current federal poverty threshold is $31,200 for a family of four, so until the FCC stopped accepting new applications, a family of four with an annual income of less than $62,400 was eligible for the program. .
Of the estimated 18,926 households in Kenton County, approximately 71% are enrolled in ACP. Statewide, about 59 percent of eligible households are enrolled.
Sarah Melotte and Will Wright contributed reporting to this article. DailyYonder.com is an online news platform based in Whitesburg, Kentucky, providing local news, analysis and commentary from around the country.
