President Biden lowers internet costs for low-income households

US President Joe Biden announced that wireless internet connection will now be available at subsidized rates for lower-income households. The step to provide low-cost internet for a low-income household has been taken after making an effective partnership with 20 internet service providers in the nation. Approximately 48 million homes in the country are to benefit from this program.

“Over the last few months, my administration has worked closely with internet providers. This is the case where big business stepped up — urging them to cut their prices and raise their speeds,” Biden said at a White House Rose Garden event about the effort. “So now families who are eligible can select a plan from a participating provider and receive high speed internet at no cost in most cases.”

The announcement follows provisions in the administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law to subsidize wireless internet for low-income families under the Affordable Connectivity Program, which reduces internet service costs for eligible families by up to $30 a month through grant funding.

“High speed internet is not a luxury any longer. It’s a necessity,” Biden said at a sun-drenched rose garden event with representatives from participating companies, as well as members of Congress.

The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included $14.2 billion funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides $30 monthly subsidies ($75 in tribal areas) on internet service for millions of lower-income households.

With the new commitment from the internet providers, some 48 million households will be eligible for $30 monthly plans for 100 megabits per second, or higher speed, service — making internet service fully paid for with government assistance if they sign up with one of the providers participating in the program.

Joe Biden

The commitments are part of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is an aspect of the Biden administration’s infrastructure law passed with support from Republicans and Democrats last year. Its goal is to help low-income households reduce their internet bills by as much as $30 (£24) a year.

Currently, 27.6 million (22.5 per cent) of US households don’t have home internet, and over a quarter-million still use dial-up internet. 

The increasing rate of digitalisation of services such as education and healthcare brought forth by the pandemic has only served to widen the digital divide. A study by the US’ National Assessment of Educational Progress suggests that poor students are less likely to have the equipment needed to attend online school.

The article stated that 7 per cent of eighth-graders who are poor don’t have internet access compared to only 1.6 per cent of non-poor students. Without reliable internet, these economic inequalities will only continue to grow. 

Families whose incomes are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and people who participate in a number of government programs are eligible, the White House said.

Qualifying programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Pell Grants and Federal Public Housing Assistance, among others.

To help people sign up, the administration is launching a website for applications and directing agencies that run the qualifying government programs to contact recipients to inform them about their eligibility.

Several states and cities, including Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York City and Philadelphia, also plan to text millions of people in eligible households, the White House said.

The administration said it views a sufficiently high-speed plan that offers download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second. 

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