UNDER PLAN, LOW-WAGE EARNERS TO GET HIGH-SPEED INTERNET FOR $30
Broadband service access is ‘necessity,’ president declares
Twenty Internet providers, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, have agreed to provide highspeed service at a steep discount to low-income consumers, the White House announced Monday, expanding broadband access for millions of Americans.
The plan, a feature of the $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year, would cost qualifying households no more than $30 per month. The discounts plus existing federal Internet subsidies mean the government will cover the full cost of connectivity if consumers sign on with one of the 20 participating companies. The White House estimates the program will cover 48 million households, or 40 percent of the country.
More than 11.5 million households have already signed up to claim government subsidies.
The 100 megabit-per-second service is fast enough for a family to work from home, complete schoolwork, browse the Internet and stream highdefinition movies and TV shows, the White House said.
“High-speed Internet is not a luxury any longer. It’s a necessity,” President Joe Biden said in remarks announcing the program at the White House Rose Garden.
Households can qualify for the subsidies, called the Affordable Connectivity Program, if their income is at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines, a member of the household participates in certain federal anti-poverty initiatives — including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, federal housing assistance, Pell Grant tuition assistance, or free or reduced-price school meals — or if the household already qualifies for an Internet provider’s low-income service program.
Consumers can check whether they qualify at getinternet.gov, or by calling (877) 384-2575.
Biden, during his 2020 campaign and in negotiations for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, has made Internet access a high priority, especially for rural America and low-income consumers. A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that although access to broadband, the most reliable form of Internet connectivity, has increased among rural residents in the past decade, rural communities still lag well behind others in terms of service.
Roughly 7 in 10 adults in rural areas reported having home broadband access in 2021, Pew found; the same proportion had a desktop or laptop computer. Eight in 10 had a smartphone. Rates for urban and suburban households were between 5 percent and 10 percent better.
But in urban and suburban communities, the cost of Internet service has long been a bigger obstacle than network access, experts say. That has prevented families from getting online to access telehealth service, participate in educational activities or enjoy entertainment.
It has led some individuals to go to great lengths to access the Internet. Public education officials speak often of students clustered at fast-food restaurants or coffee shops equipped with free Wi-Fi to complete assignments because they lack Internet connectivity at home. During the pandemic, public libraries set up stations for patients to communicate with doctors, but without the privacy to which many patients are entitled, health care professionals say.