Phyllis Jackson, a former administrative assistant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, signed up for home Internet service for the first time in nearly 20 years early last year. She now uses the Internet regularly to pay bills online, buy clothes, find new recipes, and learn about medicine.
Jackson said she signed up for the internet service after enrolling in a federal program that provides monthly discounts to low-income households. But that program is expected to run out of funding this spring, making it difficult for Jackson and millions of other households to afford to stay connected.
“I really can’t do without it,” said Jackson, 79. “In today’s climate, everyone needs to have access to a computer.”
The $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program offers low-income households up to $30 off their monthly internet bills, and households living on eligible tribal lands can receive up to $75 a month off. Through this program, more than 23 million households have received reduced bills or virtually free internet service.
But federal officials began winding down the program early last month, stopping new applications and enrollments. The program was included in the Infrastructure Act of 2021 as a replacement for a pandemic-era program that provided discounts on internet bills to certain households. There is bipartisan support for continuing the subsidies, but lawmakers have not passed an extension.
Participants will continue to receive full benefits through April, the Federal Communications Commission said. In May, Internet companies will have the option to use remaining federal funds to offer partial discounts. Based on provider claims data as of Feb. 15, the program has about $2.5 billion remaining, which is supposed to cover subsidies and other program costs.
The program is part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to connect all Americans to affordable, high-speed internet, which officials say will spur economic growth and expand access to health care and education. I’m looking forward to it. The administration is spending an additional $42.5 billion to expand broadband access to every corner of the country.
The government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding internet access, largely because officials see it as an important tool to strengthen the economy. Across U.S. metros, middle-age workers with access to high-speed internet on their home computers participate in the labor force at a much higher rate than those without access, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. . Other studies have found that internet connectivity boosts economic growth in rural areas, helping to create jobs and attract workers.
Democratic and some Republican lawmakers are uniting around a bill that would provide $7 billion in funding for the nearly one-year program. Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, who sponsored the bill, said he was encouraged by the bipartisan support, but “it’s hard to be optimistic.”
“It’s hard to get anything done in this Congress,” Welch said. “Everything in the budget is very contentious.”
Biden administration officials sent a request to Congress in October for an additional $6 billion to expand funding for the program, and have encouraged Republicans to support it. “It’s past time for them to stand up for the American people so we can continue our work to close the digital divide across our country,” White House press secretary Robin Patterson said in a statement.
FCC officials said more funding is “urgently needed” to help keep millions of households connected to high-speed internet. According to a December FCC survey of program beneficiaries, 48% of respondents said they would switch to a lower-cost plan that might be slower than their current plan, and 29% said they would switch to a lower-cost plan that might be slower than their current plan. They responded that they would cancel the service if they lost their benefits.
FCC spokeswoman Paloma Perez said ending the program is a “step backwards” and that the agency is working with lawmakers to “consider what the future of this program looks like.” Stated.
But some Republicans say the plan is wasteful. In a letter to the FCC in December, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and other Republicans raised concerns about the program, which provides subsidies to households that already have internet service. They also pointed to findings from the FCC Office of Inspector General, which has expressed concern in recent months that some providers are not complying with program rules and fraudulently claiming funds. Ta.
“Some people are receiving this benefit that they don’t actually need,” West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said in a recent local news interview. “So I think we need to be accountable and make sure that the people who are receiving this benefit are actually the people who can’t pay.”
According to the FCC survey, 22% of respondents said they had no internet service at all and 25% only used mobile internet service before enrolling in the program. 30% of respondents said they use both mobile and home Internet services.
Blair Levin, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former FCC official during the Obama administration, said the program changes are problematic but would put millions of Americans at risk of losing internet access. Lawmakers previously said there should be a compromise.
Jackson, who enrolled in the program with the help of a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit, said she wasn’t sure if she would have internet service after the program ended. She will likely have to buy fewer groceries and use less electricity to cut down on spending, but she said her monthly rent is also scheduled to increase by $50 next month.
Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, said the end of the subsidy program also complicates the Biden administration’s other $42.5 billion program to provide broadband access to all Americans. He said it is possible. The money will be distributed as a grant to internet providers and is intended to cover much of the cost of building broadband infrastructure.
But without the subsidy program, more low-income households would struggle to afford broadband service. Garner said that because there are fewer potential customers in low-income areas, internet providers have less incentive to expand service there and may require larger federal subsidies.
“It’s a huge task to reach every unconnected household in the country,” Garner said. “If ACP doesn’t attract infrastructure to these very hard-to-reach areas, it’s going to be even more difficult.”
Garner said the subsidy program also helps provide more reliable internet access for households. One year prior to enrolling in the program, many participants reported that they only had internet service during the months they could afford. Some households may lose service completely, while others may opt for slower internet plans, which may hinder their ability to complete many tasks online. Yes, Garner said.
Vincent Coleman, 26, a medical student from Huntington, West Virginia, said he probably will have to downgrade his internet plan. The new plan costs about $40 a month (about the same as what you currently pay with discounts), but your internet connection may be too slow to watch lectures or view patient records at home. he is worried
Coleman said the benefit has helped give him and his wife peace of mind.
“It’s a huge help,” Coleman said. “Money is always a source of great stress, so I budget very carefully.”
