Popular internet subsidy program ends, despite push to renew

An internet subsidy program that connected 23 million households is about to take its last breath without the immediate prospect of resuscitation from Congress.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era initiative that offered qualifying households up to $30 a month toward their internet bills, and up to $75 per month for tribal residents, will fully cease to exist June 1. The milestone comes after the program halved subsidy amounts in April and after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) froze new enrollments in February.

As Tech Brew previously reported, the program found success in connecting many Americans who had never had home internet before. In an FCC survey, a vast majority of users reported that, without the ACP, they wouldn’t be able to afford internet at all, or would need to change their current plan.

The ACP’s impending wind-down date has led to calls for lawmakers to find a solution—any solution—to renew the program’s funding.

“For the past 16 months we have been raising the alarm on the risk of the Affordable Connectivity Program running out of funds. Well, the day is upon us,” Angie Kronenberg, president of competitive network group Incompas, said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that the overwhelming collective support for the program was not met with swift action.”

There are a few pathways through which Congress could revive the program, albeit after it ceases operation. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced in early May would appropriate more funding for the program while narrowing its eligibility criteria, but it still needs a companion bill from the House. Both chambers proposed bipartisan legislation in January that would extend the program through the end of the year, but those efforts have also failed to move ahead.

The FCC’s Lifeline program, which offers $9.25 in monthly internet subsidies, will remain as an option, but FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said it’s not a perfect replacement.

“The Affordable Connectivity Program filled an important gap that provider low-income programs, state and local affordability programs, and the Lifeline program cannot fully address,” she said in a statement. “The Commission is available to provide any assistance Congress may need to support funding the ACP in the future and stands ready to resume the program if additional funding is provided.”