(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural This story was originally published by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . With Funding for ACP Up, Supporters Push for New Money, Better Access for Low-Income Families [1] ['Kristi Eaton', 'The Daily Yonder', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2024-06-20 Now that the federal Affordable Connectivity Program has run out of money, advocates for it are calling on the passage of a new funding bill — and some changes to the program. The Affordable Connectivity Program, also known as ACP, was part of the landmark 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It earmarked $14.2 billion to help lower the costs of broadband. The program offered $30 per month to eligible families to pay for low-cost broadband connections. Participants on tribal lands were eligible for $75 a month. About 14% of participants (3.2 million households) were rural, according to a Daily Yonder analysis of Federal Communications Commission data. As of May 31, 2024, the program is out of money. “I think rural America will be quite harmed by the sudden loss of the Affordable Connectivity Program, both internet service providers who are counting on this to help them pay for big investments they’ve made, and obviously the homes that are disconnected,” Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told the Daily Yonder in a Zoom interview. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced into Congress to extend funding but it has not gotten anywhere. Mitchell said he doesn’t like to be partisan but sees that Republican lawmakers are stopping the legislation from moving forward. “From what I can tell, the Republicans don’t want to give Joe Biden a big victory right before the presidential election,” he said. “This has come down to politics with nearly all Democrats fighting to preserve the Affordable Connectivity Program, and some Republicans really working hard to support it. But most Republicans are not supporting it. And so I have to say that the problem is that Republicans don’t want to put money into lowering the cost of Internet for both urban and rural families.” Representatives from the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee did not respond to requests for comment. Mitchell said the program focuses too heavily on making sure the large telecommunications companies are happy, and less so on the individuals and families affected by the program. “For low-income families, we need networks that are designed to help them and be affordable. And help them get by when they don’t have the digital skills that they need, or the devices that they need,” Mitchell said. “And that gets beyond what a big company can provide, and more into a local community focused effort. And so what we often say regarding low-income families is that we need to focus more on the challenge of poverty, the challenge of connecting them to technology.” FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez said that since the pandemic, people know that broadband is an essential service. “It is no longer just a luxury, but necessary to participate in modern life,” she wrote in an email response to The Daily Yonder. “As a country, we’ve recognized that everyone needs affordable, reliable access to high-speed Internet to thrive. The ACP has been the greatest tool we’ve ever had to closing the digital divide. And we’ve recognized that for far too long, many have been left on the wrong side of the digital divide because Internet service was too costly.” She wrote that FCC data makes clear that ACP has been a lifeline for rural Americans. In a survey of ACP beneficiaries, 47% of households reported they had zero Internet connectivity or relied solely on mobile Internet service prior to receiving their ACP benefit. For rural households, however, 53% reported that they had zero Internet connectivity or relied solely on mobile Internet service prior to receiving their ACP benefit. “We know that broadband is more costly in rural, remote, high-cost areas,” Gomez wrote. “We’ve made an historic multi-billion dollar investment in Internet for All through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, but unfortunately, without ACP, many rural households will not be able to afford connectivity once it becomes available to them.” Representatives from lawmakers who introduced legislation to extend funding did not respond to requests for comment. Representative Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) sponsored the bill in the House. She released a statement saying the end of the program will have “devastating” consequences. “Soon, many underserved families in rural and urban communities alike will have to make the difficult sacrifice of losing access to telehealth services, online learning, employment opportunities, and so much more,” the statement said. “Reliable broadband is essential to our way of life and economy. Without it, millions of families relying on the ACP for internet access will be left out and left behind.” Clarke said in the statement she will continue to fight for the funding bill. Meanwhile, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), who sponsored the Senate bill, said he would also continue to pursue funding. “I am determined to work with my colleagues to keep this program going, for the good of working families, seniors, and veterans across America,” he said in the statement. “A monthly rebate of $30 might not seem like much to some of my colleagues in Congress, but to many families it means being able to stay connected while putting food on the table. I’m not giving up this fight.” Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailyyonder.com/with-funding-for-acp-up-supporters-push-for-new-money-better-access-for-low-income-families/2024/06/20/ Published and (C) by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailyyonder/