Program that helps lower low-income American internet bills is about to run out of funds for good
The ACP is about to lose its funding for good, and there seems to be little chance of a rescue in time.
JoriPress
- ACP is set to run out of funds on May 31. There are several attempts to extend the program’s funding.
- Unfortunately, politics are mostly in the way, making it very unlikely any bill will save it in time.
- If the program ends, millions of Americans will have to find an alternative or look for a cheaper ISP/carrier plan.
It’s no secret that the US is known for having much higher ISP and carrier service pricing compared to most other countries, but the situation is about to get worse for millions of Americans. We wrote back in January that millions of Americans might soon have to pay more for internet access as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was set to expire. Since then, the program has become unavailable to new members, and now it’s on the verge of running out of funds completely. On May 31, funds will run dry, and the program will end for good. Unfortunately, it’s looking less and less likely that anyone will come to the rescue.
The ACP program allowed qualifying low-income households to apply for a $30 credit that could be used to lower the cost of either their local ISP or their phone provider. This is an issue both sides support on paper, but it all comes down to semantics. The Republicans and Democrats have been unable to see eye to eye on the terms, as Republicans weren’t happy with the way the original ACP program handled the reporting of information on those in the program.
