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Cheaper Internet for Tens of Millions of Poor Americans Is Really Coming

Implementation of the Affordable Connectivity Program moves forward after dozens of providers sign up.

Tens of millions of Americans are set to get cheap access to the internet after 20 internet companies said they would sign on to a Biden administration initiative. The Affordable Connectivity Program was part of last year’s $1 trillion infrastructure package, and AP says that owing to the providers coming on board, “some 48 million households will be eligible for $30 monthly subsidies for 100 megabits per second, or higher speed, service,” the cost of which the government will fully subsidize. The subsidy will rise to $75 in tribal areas. Biden made the expansion of high-speed internet a key campaign pledge and last month told teachers: “If we didn’t know it before, we know now: High-speed internet is essential.” Households will be eligible if their income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or if a family member is on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or receives Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) or Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit.