Broadband program is running out of money
About 1.6M Texas households are set to lose access to a federal $30-a-month stipend for internet
WASHINGTON — Two months ago, Karyn Arceneaux, a 59-year-old high school teacher in Humble, got high-speed internet for the first time, allowing her to put aside her slow-loading smartphone and check out online courses in sociology, study up on behavioral health and watch her favorite television shows.
And two months from now, she might have to give it up.
Arceneaux is among the
1.6 million Texas households — and 23 million nationwide — about to lose access to a $30-a-month stipend Congress created in 2021 to help low-income families get access to the internet. The $14.2 billion program, named the Affordable Connectivity Program, is expected to run out of money in April or
May without Congressional action.
“When I got signed up, I thought this is wonderful. A person can grow with this,”
Arceneaux said. “It’s really opened my world up, and now I’m not sure I can afford internet anymore. The price is just so high.”
Expanding broadband service to low-income and rural communities has long been a popular cause in Congress. In recent months, Republicans and Democrats alike have filed legislation to extend the program for another year while they try to find a permanent solution.
But with politicians at odds over the size of the federal budget, the two parties have been unable to come to agreement on how to fund the broadband program.
“There’s still time to make it happen,” said Jonathan Spalter, president of the United States Telecom Association, a trade group for telephone and broadband companies. “What time needs to be paired with is the political will to get it over the finish line.”
Currently, 80% of Americans have high-speed in
ternet service at home, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. But that percentage drops precipitously in many rural areas and low-income neighborhoods, either due to poverty or the high cost of laying fiber optic cable to sparsely populated areas.
In West Texas, for instance, Big Bend Telecom is moving to provide high-speed internet to every one of its customers. But with a service area of around 18,000 square miles and roughly 10,000 customers, residents live so far apart Big Bend will sometimes have to install wireless equipment at the end of fiber optic lines to connect their most remote customers.
That drives up costs exponentially beyond what an urban carrier would have to spend, and without the Affordable Connectivity Program the company risks building broadband lines that aren’t adequately subscribed, said Rusty Moore, the company’s general manager.
“Our investments fall flat if there’s not enough adoption,” he said. “Thirty bucks is a big deal for some folks. They can stretch it a long way.”
In today’s digital economy, a lack of internet connectivity can have serious consequences for local economies.
Office work, health care, business transactions and education increasingly are conducted over the internet. Gov. Greg Abbott called broadband, “a critical tool to keep our economy booming, children learning and families connected to the best healthcare facilities in the world,” following the announcement of a $1.3 billion internet upgrade to Charter Communications’ Texas network last year.
But Texas still has a long way to go.
Kelty Garbee, executive director of nonprofit Texas Rural Funders, estimates it would cost around $10 billion to connect up those remaining parts of Texas without highspeed internet. The federal government has already set aside $3.3 billion for Texas to lay more fiber optic cable, with the state Legislature approving another $1.5 billion last year.
“We’re taking one step forward with (infrastructure funding) and two steps back if 1.6 million people in Texas lose internet access because they can’t afford it,” Garbee said.