Topline
The 23 million American households receiving government financial assistance for their monthly internet bills could soon be on their own—and many may lose access to home internet—as an almost three-year-old program is set to end at the end of the month.
In this photo illustration, a woman is using a laptop on May 12, 2020.
Key Facts
A bipartisan longshot effort to save the Affordable Connectivity Program has been introduced in the House and Senate but has faced criticism from some lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who called it “a massive welfare program” that is “not working as Congress intended.”
Some 206 House Democrats and 24 Republicans have co-sponsored a bill in the chamber to expand the program, with many promoting it as pro-veteran, helpful for low-income households and necessary to connect the tens of millions of participating eligible households to the internet, more than 40% of which are headed by someone over the age of 50.
Congress first allocated $14.2 billion to the Affordable Connectivity Program in December of 2021, and that money—used to provide a $30 to $75 stipend toward internet bills per month and for a one-time discount toward the purchase of a laptop computer, desktop or tablet—is now running out.
The bill introduced to save the program would allocate $7 billion more to extend it through the end of the year and allow Congress to “work out the long-term changes that are needed for sustainable access,” according to Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
Before receiving the federal internet subsidy, almost 22% of program participants had no personal internet service and another 25% had only mobile internet, according to a 2023 survey by the Federal Communications Commission.
The same survey found that almost 77% of beneficiaries said they would need to make changes to their broadband plan if they stopped receiving the subsidy, with 30% saying they’d need to drop internet service altogether.
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What We Don’t Know
It’s not clear when—or if—Congress will take up votes to extend the program. The Biden administration has called for its extension.
Crucial Quote
“This takes away grocery money,” California resident Aldredo Camacho told The Markup of the program’s end. “Being a single father, $30 goes a long way.”
Key Background
The Federal Communications Commission launched the Affordable Connectivity Program on Dec. 31, 2021, giving most eligible households $30 per month toward their internet bill and $75 to those on qualifying Tribal lands. Those eligible include households with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, those that participate in certain assistance programs or who meet one of several other criteria. In addition to giving families a break on the cost of a necessary service, proponents have argued the program has saved millions of dollars in other sectors, including healthcare by expanding the viability of telehealth programs and veterans services by allowing them to enroll in school and learn job skills. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said he’s been told the program allowed companies to expand service to rural areas because they knew the relatively low-income customer base in those areas would be provided financial assistance.
Big Number
$2. That’s the economic benefit gained from every $1 spent on the Affordable Connectivity Program, according to a study from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Subscribers are estimated to gain $16.23 billion in annual benefits from the subsidy, which costs $8.45 billion per year.
