Dorothy Burrell, a 55-year-old Kansas City resident, said,” The ACP system truly saved my life. &nbsp,

One of the 23 million Americans who took part in the Cheap Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era account that assisted low-income individuals in paying for online exposure, was Burrell. &nbsp,

These days, Burrell teaches computer knowledge at the online advocacy volunteer Essential People, but when day-to-day living went online during the pandemic, she immediately found herself stranded without an internet connection. &nbsp,

” Because I have lupus, it was difficult for me”, Burrell said. When I don’t even picture her, speak to her, let her know, or stay in touch with my family and loved ones, my reverend had to arrive and put the food inside for me.

Previous ACP students have had to produce a number of concessions to keep their computer on since it ended a year ago. Nearly 40 % of participants in the program said they had to cut back on meals spending in order to obtain their new web bill, according to a survey conducted in January by the National Lifeline Association. 41 % cut back on necessities like clothes, steam and vet’s visits. Another 18 % reported that their children had trouble finishing their research. &nbsp,

The 64 % of respondents said they couldn’t maintain regular contact with their loved ones, which was the number that most struck me. That was something I heard echoed by almost every ACP person I spoke with for this part: Life without an online connection can be very isolating. &nbsp,

” I live alone, and the computer’s like my best friend”, said Phyllis Jackson, a retired administrative assistant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. I listen to YouTube a lot. I check my emails a lot. I’m always there,”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

The ACP provided$ 30 a month to help low-income households pay for an internet connection, or$ 75 for people living on Tribal lands. The program accepted households that were at or below 200 % of the federal poverty threshold, or$ 60, 000 for a family of four. Prices to get online have only gone up since it ended, with 63 % of customers reporting higher internet bills than the year before in a recent CNET survey. &nbsp,

Despite broad bipartisan support from voters– and from former senator, now Vice President J. D. Vance, who co-sponsored a bill in 2024 to extend the ACP– the program officially ran out of money one year ago. ACP users had to make a difficult decision when they first faced the decision to find an extra$ 30 in their monthly budget or cut out their internet connection altogether starting in June 2024. &nbsp,

” It was just a sad moment,” Burrell asserted. ” I was praying that they’d let us keep it. But it was already over.

In my seven years covering the broadband industry, I’ve heard over and over from experts that the reason most people don’t have an internet connection isn’t because it’s unavailable– it’s just too expensive. The ACP marked the first time the federal government took the affordability aspect of the equation seriously. &nbsp,

Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, said,” It was a matter of having consistent access to the internet.” ” Internet access is not a’ you have it or you don’t have it.’ Do you always have what you need so that it is readily available when you need it?

But that investment in affordability paled in comparison to the money devoted to expanding infrastructure. The ACP only made up$ 14.2 billion of the$ 90 billion Congress allocated to bridging the broadband gap in 2021, with the rest going toward boosting internet access in primarily rural areas.

“The ACP was the most effective program I have ever seen for helping low-income Americans get online and stay online,” saidFCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starksat a roundtable hosted by Broadband Breakfast in February. “In fact, In my decades-long, nonpartisan effort to bridge the digital divide, I really think it was the most successful program we’ve always had.”

That’s no exaggeration. According to a study conducted by the Benton Institute for Broadband &amp, Society, a dollar spent on the ACP has a nearly two-dollar impact on those who use the program. Another study from The Brattle Group determined that the ACP generated nearly$ 30 billion in annual savings through improved access to telehealth services alone. &nbsp,

In some ways, the ACP was a victim of its own success. The subsidy was eliminated once the money was spent because it was a one-time appropriation, and the sign-up turnout was unrealistic. Internet service providers began notifying recipients in January last year that they’d lose the discount, by June, it was gone.

Millions of people are disconnected: Isolation, less shopping, missed appointments.

We’re still untangling the impacts of the ACP’s end. Some people debate how many people lost their internet connections as a result. &nbsp,

According to census data released in September, 6 million Americans jumped to internet service after the ACP was implemented in 2022. Then-FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told Congress in November 2023 that between 20 % and 22 % of ACP subscribers had no internet subscription before the ACP. That would equate to about 4.5 million homes.

Wherever the number lies exactly, we know that many millions of people crossed the broadband divide because of the ACP. However, how many of them regrouped after the program was over?

In a survey taken in its dying days, about 13 % of ACP subscribers, or roughly 3 million households, said they would cancel their service after the subsidy ran out. The figure was predicted by another report to be twice as high.

Those projections are no longer theoretical. According to a recent Ookla report, the broadband gap increased in 32 states during the second half of 2024, which is almost exactly the same as the ACP’s end. ( Disclaimer: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, the same company that owns CNET. )

In a previous interview with CNET’s Cierra Noffke, Sue Marek, editorial director at Ookla and author of the report, said,” We suspect that some of this]broadband divide] was related to the ACP ending. &nbsp,

ISPs have also noticed declines since the ACP ended, despite the fact that many offered their own subsidized plans to low-income customers. Spectrum attributed around 200, 000 lost subscribers to the end of the program, while Xfinity shed around 79, 000. &nbsp,

Melvin Lewis, a retired musician who lives alone in Pittsburgh and was enrolled in the ACP, said he would only cancel his internet as a last resort.

” It’s very important for me,” he said. ” I absolutely need this internet. It keeps me connected to the outside world.

For those ACP subscribers who couldn’t afford to keep their internet connection, many are reverting to old strategies for getting online. &nbsp,

“It’s really sad. People just can’t afford it anymore,” said Kami Griffiths, executive director of the digital equity nonprofit digitalLIFT. “They are returning to what they used to do in the past, which was using their phones as hotspots, and even going to Starbucks or the library with their neighbors ‘ connections whenever they can.” 

There are other options, but they are not as consistent.

Since it ended, many former ACP enrollees have switched to low-income internet plans offered directly by providers, which can be less reliable than a federal government subsidy. &nbsp,

Karen Kama, a 68-year-old digital skills student with the Reading Public Library, told me that she uses Comcast’s low-income plan, which is available to anyone who receives a social service benefit like Medicaid or public housing assistance. She claimed that since she signed up, her monthly payment has already increased from$ 10 to$ 15.

” If they go up again, I’m just going to have that shut off”, Kama said. I have a fixed income. I can’t let nothing get out of hand. So I’m just going to delete those that go back in, check with them, and see if I can do something else if they go back up again.

Another issue with these plans is that they often don’t allow you to participate if you have an outstanding balance on your account. &nbsp,

” If you lose your job and miss a bill, you’re not eligible for their low-cost plan”, said Drew Garner, a director of policy engagement for the nonprofit Benton Institute for Broadband &amp, Society. The current low-cost plans are a “drop in the bucket,” he said. The ACP was the real key” .&nbsp,

Since the ACP ended, a number of cities and states have also created their own internet subsidies. New York state began mandating internet service providers to start offering plans to low-income households at the rate of$ 15 per month before the ACP was overturned, which the Supreme Court upheld in December 2024. Similar legislation is on the table in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Vermont. &nbsp,

” It’s clearly on the minds of policymakers”, said Jake Varn, an associate manager with The Pew Charitable Trusts ‘ broadband access initiative. There is generally a wave of acceptance that affordability is a real, serious challenge.

But this piecemeal approach has its downsides, too. &nbsp,

” What New York has is an incredible solution”, Siefer said. But is it really necessary to go state-by-state and do this? Absolutely not. There must be one solution for every state.

While there have been several ACP extension bills introduced over the past year, none of them have made it out of committee. Some observers believe that Congress has been content to let the issue go unnoticed, despite recent presidential social media posts. &nbsp,

” We would hear last summer, when we went to the Hill, that we hadn’t heard from anyone because the ACP ran out of money,” said Danielle Perry, a board member with the trade group The National Lifeline Association. ” No kidding, because they don’t have a way to get in touch with you”.

A shaky reputation

There have been a few glimmers of an ACP revival over the past year, but the community organizations I spoke with said it wouldn’t be easy to re-engage those 23 million homes. &nbsp,

” It took a lot of work to get people signed up, and it took a lot of organizations putting their legitimacy on the line”, said Revati Prasad, executive director for the nonprofit Benton Institute for Broadband &amp, Society. There is a loss of trust here.

According to a ( since-deleted ) White House fact sheet, 1 in 4 households participating in the ACP program were Black, 1 in 4 were Latino and nearly half were military families, along with 4 million seniors and 10 million Americans over the age of 50.

The retired musician from Pittsburgh, Melvin Lewis, was first enrolled in the ACP through Computer Reach, a regional nonprofit that works to bridge the digital divide.

“How it was sold to me was like, this is for older people, people in the rural areas, and it’s especially important for us to have,” he said. “Then they just take it away. If this is so important, who’s fighting for us to keep it?”

This was echoed in my conversations with those who worked to train ACP users on the ground. Getting people signed up was a huge undertaking, and there’s no guarantee that it would be as successful a second time around. &nbsp,

” They stuck their necks out for the program. The National Hispanic Media Coalition’s policy advisor, Daiquiri Ryan Mercado, described them as reliable messengers. ” And then it kind of just ended with a very short off-ramp period”.

“Can’t live without it,” the saying goes.

Each of those 23 million ACP users has a unique story, but a common theme emerged in my conversations: the internet was essential for them, and they were willing to make big sacrifices to stay online. &nbsp,

When I asked Phyllis Jackson whether she ever thought about canceling her internet after the ACP ended, she seemed shocked that I would even ask. &nbsp,

” Oh no! She said,” I can’t live without it.” ” I will find some way– cutting down on food or heat or whatever. since it’s actually necessary.

Dorothy Burrell, the digital navigator with Essential Families in Kansas City, gave me the same answer. Never. Never. You require it. You need the internet no matter what”, she said. &nbsp,

Melvin Lewis said he would only cancel his internet as a last resort. &nbsp,

” Internet is something you just absolutely have to have”, he said. It’s like having water, lights, or sewage,”. I don’t know how people get along without it”.

What other low-income internet options are there?

There’s no one resource that’s been a substitute for the Affordable Connectivity Program, but there are several options available that can help low-income families pay for internet. What’s out there is as follows:

Lifeline: This federal subsidy provides$ 9.25 per month toward phone or internet services, but the income requirements are lower than the ACP’s: 135 % of the federal poverty guideline, or$ 43, 402 for a family of four. You may also qualify if you take advantage of the Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Programs, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income, Tribal-specific programs, or other federal public housing assistance programs.
• State and local resources: Many states and cities created their own low-income internet subsidies after the ACP ended. The best way to locate local programs is to use Google’s” [location ] internet resources” search. You can also use CNET’s guide to low-income internet options in all 50 states. &nbsp,
• Low-income plans from internet providers: Many internet providers had their own discounted plans before the ACP, and they started offering them again after it ended. A nonprofit organization called the National Digital Inclusion Alliance developed a scoring system called Grading Internet for Good that is based on factors like cost, transparency, and plan performance. You can see these ratings in the table below, along with some basic information about each plan.

Put your address on the FCC’s broadband map to find out which providers are available in your area. This will give you a list of every provider that serves your home. You’ll need to enter your address into each provider’s website separately to see what plans are available. &nbsp,