Why is broadband about to get very expensive for millions of Americans? Internet connection cost to skyrocket
April is the last month that households which benefit from the Affordable Connectivity Program will receive the full discount on their internet service.
The United States Congress in 2021, as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). It has been providing millions of low-income households with a monthly credit toward their broadband bill since then.
However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced earlier this year that it would begin winding down the popular program as the $14.2 billion initially made available for the ACP is running out. Despite proposed legislation, strong bipartisan support and calls from the White House for Congress to approve further funding, it looks unlikely that it will get passed.
Broadband about to get very expensive for millions of Americans
More than 23 million Americans are currently enrolled in the program according to the FCC. April is the last month that these households will receive the full discount on their internet service. The FCC has said that participating “ACP households may receive a partial discount in May 2024.”
This means come June, if the $7 billion in proposed new funding isn’t passed, that beneficiaries will now have to foot the whole of their internet bill. The ACP has been providing eligible families a $30 monthly credit if their household income was below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guideline. Some people living on Tribal lands were eligible to receive up to $75.
Many internet service providers, under pressure from the Biden administration, with the implementation of the ACP had rolled out cheaper plans for just $30 a month. That meant that some of those enrolled in the ACP were getting their internet access for free.
The White House is encouraging that those companies continue to offer low-cost and no-cost plans so the internet divide doesn’t grow as ACP recipients will have to decide whether they pay for internet, food or other necessities.
Cynthia George, a 71-year-old retiree who receives the monthly ACP credit, told CNN that she hunts for deals on groceries using the Publix app to help stretch her SNAP benefits “just a little further.” She tells her grandchildren, who joking call her “cheap,” that she’s “thrifty.”
“I don’t have any choice,” she said. “I have to account for every penny. And this would mean that that food bill would have to be cut down. There’s no place else I would be able to take it from.”