More than 23 million low income households could lose internet access, after a pandemic-era program expired on Tuesday due to a lack of federal funding.
The Affordable Connectivity Program - which was part of the larger Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - set aside $14.2 billion in funds for families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line. Most families eligible for the program received $30 in credits per month, while those living on Tribal land received $75.
A survey conducted by Comcast indicated that more than 25% of those who use the program live in rural communities - with 40% of the program beneficiaries residing in the southern states. The overwhelming majority of program participants who responded to the survey expressed fear about losing their jobs and access to healthcare or having their children fall behind in school.
"I'm trying to become a productive member of society, something that they say people on low income are not," disabled community college student Michelle McDonough told CNN. "I'm trying. And, you know, one of the programs that's helping me, they're talking about taking it away - when there are definitely a lot of other things that they probably could take the funding from."
Early on in the program, many internet providers dropped the cost of their cheapest plans to $30, so that families receiving the credit could buy their services. The White House is urging internet providers to keep internet costs low - even though low income families are no longer the guaranteed customers they were during the program.
"We announced earlier this month that we are encouraging providers to take steps to keep their consumers connected at this crucial time by over low-cost, no-cost plans," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday.
