FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez urged Congress to appropriate funds to save the Affordable Connectivity Program on Monday. The ACP provides broadband subsidies of up to $30 a month for low-income families and $75 a month for families in tribal communities. ACP beneficiaries also receive a one-time $100 discount for a desktop, laptop, or tablet.
Barring congressional action, the ACP will run out of money in less than four months. The Commission ended enrollment last week, Inside Towers reported.
“Our government’s historic approach of narrowing the digital divide was insufficient because it focused almost exclusively on expanding broadband’s availability,” Gomez said during a State of the Net address. “The ACP is the most successful tool we’ve ever had to closing the digital divide, because it finally addresses the long-overlooked yet critical affordability piece of the puzzle.”
More than 23 million households are enrolled in the program. More than five million enrollees had never been connected before, according to Gomez. “Many more had what can only be described as precarious connectivity—connectivity that could be easily lost if the family had to make hard choices on tight budgets in any given month,” she said.
Nearly half of ACP subscribers are military families. “Considering their sacrifices, it hardly seems right to yank away the support,” Gomez emphasized. She noted the nearly four million senior households enrolled in ACP living on a fixed income from Social Security are going to have limited alternatives to stay connected.
Letting the ACP expire would cost the government more money, according to the Commissioner. That’s because many of the services the government supports can be delivered at a lower cost online.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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