Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (Photo/The White House)
By Karen Stokes
Without Congressional action to extend funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enacted under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and implemented by the FCC as the largest internet affordability program in our nation’s history, this initiative that has benefitted Black households will end as we know it.
There are 23 million American households that rely on the internet and will lose that benefit and see their internet costs go up or lose internet access altogether. The last fully funded month of the program is April 2024.
On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act) became law. The Infrastructure Act provided $14.2 billion to modify and extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) to a longer-term broadband affordability program.
“In the 21st century, affordable reliable high speed internet is a key to opportunity. High speed internet is necessary for all Americans to do their jobs. Millions of Americans still can’t afford the cost of monthly internet connection. These disparities fall within familiar lines, underserved communities, rural communities and the elderly,” said Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement during a press call.
Geoffrey Starks, Federal Communications Commisioner (Photo/FCC)
“ACP has been frozen since Feb 2024, no one was allowed to enroll any longer in the program. As of January 8, there were 22.5 million households enrolled. California had the highest number of enrollees with about 2.8 million, followed by Florida (1.7 million), New York (1.7 million), Texas (1.65 million) and Ohio (1.1 million),” said Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.
“In this wind down phase we have structured our rules where households that are enrolled are going to have to opt-in to the program. We didn’t want these households to be stuck with a bill that they didn’t sign up for and didn’t want to pay so at the end of April when ACP dollars run out, they will have to work with their internet provider to affirmatively get the Internet moving forward,” Starks said.
“There is pending legislation in the house and the senate that the ACP would reappropriate dollars for this program to keep it going,” Starks said. “President Biden himself has repeatedly included in his budget requesting the money for the program. Right now there are 215 co-sponsors and that is a vehicle that could re-fund the ACP right now.”
“Without action from Republicans in Congress, funding for this program is slated to run out at the end of April. Millions of families have already received notices that their internet bills will be increasing as of midnight tomorrow, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will pause enrollments in the program,” Benjamin said.
“This program is really about people and I have gone across this nation talking about ACP, getting vulnerable households enrolled in ACP. There are real people here that are going to be on the wrong side of the digital divide if this funding does not come through,” said Starks.