The Vermont Community Broadband Board is alerting residents regarding the potential end of a federally subsidized broadband program for low-income households. The federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is set to expire in April unless Congress allocates $7 billion to keep it running, Inside Towers reported. The lapse could leave 25,000 Vermonters without connectivity.
“It really could send somebody back into the digital darkness,” said Rob Fish, the board’s deputy director, in an interview with VT Digger. “They’re going to have to pay $30 more per month in order to access a basic service that you need to participate in society.”
Community Broadband Board Executive Director Christine Hallquist wrote to Vermont House and Senate members last week, encouraging them to take action if the federal program lapses, according to VT Digger. The ACP offers a $30 discount to households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty rate ($62,000 for a family of four). VT Digger reported that without the subsidy, some low-income residents would need to spend a disproportionate amount of their income on broadband, which isn’t sustainable and would create an “economic divide.”
The ACP launched in 2021 with federal Infrastructure Law funding. According to the FCC, over 22 million households are currently enrolled. With sunsetting a possibility, the agency plans to stop accepting new applications for enrollment by February 8, Inside Towers reported.
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