State struggles to get people to sign up for free internet
About half of the Milwaukee households eligible for low-cost internet service are now enrolled in a federal program that offers it, but statewide enrollment is only around 25% and the program’s barely been used in many communities, according to new figures released Wednesday.
Even in Milwaukee, where the Affordable Connectivity Program has been heavily promoted, thousands of eligible households haven’t signed up for the benefit that provides $30 a month toward the cost of internet service. Moreover, when combined with a discount ACP price from Charter Spectrum, AT&T, and other service providers, the service would be free.
The sign-up rate of eligible households in Wisconsin has ranged from under 1%, sometimes in rural communities that lack internet access, to more than 70% in Brown Deer in Milwaukee County.
Statewide, the rate was 25% of 894,005 eligible households, according to the national nonprofit group EducationSuperHighway that released the data. That’s just above the national average of 24%, less than Michigan at 26%, but better than Minnesota at 16%.
Nationwide, nearly 52 million households are eligible for the ACP benefit, yet only 13 million have enrolled, according to EducationSuperHighway, whose goal is to help close the broadband affordability gap.
There’s plenty of room for improvement nearly everywhere, said Jack Lynch, the organization’s chief operating officer.
Many low-income families have internet service but could still get the subsidy if they enrolled in the program.
The subsidy is available for households with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty rate, which is around $26,000 for an individual and $52,000 for a family of four. Participants in Medicaid, public housing, Women and Infant Children (WIC), free and reduced-price meals at school, Pell grants, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are also among those eligible.
In addition to a $30 subsidy each month toward internet service, and $75 for families on qualifying tribal lands, eligible households can claim a onetime discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop, or tablet.
The $14.2 billion program was funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as part of the Biden administration’s effort to close the broadband affordability gap.