Biden’s Vow of Affordable Internet For All threatened By Expiration of Subsidies
(NEWSnet/AP) — President Joe Biden traveled to North Carolina recently to promote his goal of affordable internet access for all, but the promise is on shaky ground.
A subsidy that helps people with limited resources afford internet access is set to expire this spring. It could affect 23 million families.
Monday will be depleted by late April for Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides $30 per month for qualifying families in most places and $75 on tribal land. Funding will cease unless Congress extends it.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said it should be a high priority for Congress.
“To many families, $30 a month is a big deal,” Cooper said.
The program is key to the Biden administration's plan to make the internet available to everyone. He has compared it to Rural Electrification Administration, a New Deal program that delivered electricity to rural residents in the 1930s.
So far, only 43% of eligible households have registered for the ACP subsidy.
Brian Vo, chief investment officer of Connect Humanity, a nonprofit promoting widespread internet access, says it also provides access to vital services such as telehealth, remote schooling and work, he said.
“If you put ACP and affordability in the context of the social determinants it drives and the economic value created, the benefits far outweigh the cost of $30 per household,” Vo said.
If the program expires, participating families either will lose internet service or have to pay more to stay connected.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently proposed a bill to sustain ACP through the end of 2024 with an additional $7 billion in funding — $1 billion more than what Biden has requested Congress to approve.
No votes are scheduled to move the bill forward and it’s unclear if the program will be prioritized in Congress.
Federal Communications Commission has taken steps for the program’s wind-down. It has instructed internet providers to send notices and said it will stop accepting new enrollees after Feb. 7.
Follow NEWSnet on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.
Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
