FCC ends affordable internet program due to lack of funds
CNN
The Affordable Connectivity Program, which helped low-income Americans get online, is no more.
The Affordable Connectivity Program, which helped low-income Americans get online, is no more. On Friday, the US government announced the final closure of the broadly popular federal program, which has helped tens of millions of households afford internet service, after Republicans in Congress ignored calls by consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers to approve more funding this spring. The program’s lapse threatens to throw nearly 60 million Americans into financial distress, CNN has reported. The program officially ends on June 1, said the Federal Communications Commission, which administered the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to approximately 1 in 5 households across the country and on tribal reservations. The 2.5-year-old ACP provided eligible low-income Americans with a monthly credit off their internet bills, worth up to $30 per month and as much as $75 per month for households on tribal lands. The pandemic-era program was a hit with members of both political parties and served tens of millions of seniors, veterans and rural and urban Americans alike. Program participants received only partial benefits in May ahead of the ACP’s expected collapse.
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