Can the elections revive the affordable connectivity program?

When millions of Americans cast their votes next week, the Affordable connectivity program It won’t be put to a vote, but the results could determine whether we see an internet subsidy of this magnitude again.

The ACS was passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when Congress spent $14.2 billion on making the internet more affordable for low-income users. It gave low-income users $30 each month toward home internet costs (or $70 for those living in tribal areas). In the same bill, Congress invested $42.5 billion to expand internet infrastructure in rural areas.

By the time the program ended in May 2024, ACP countries had enrolled more than 23 million households, including more than 10 million veterans.

The ACS was a recognition of an underappreciated truth about the digital divide: most Americans don’t have an Internet connection because it’s too expensive, not because they don’t have access to it.

“We’re spending $42 billion on making sure the infrastructure exists, but we’re not spending anything on the affordability barrier,” Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, told CNET. “That is very lopsided and needs to be addressed.”

Since it expired in May, there have been several ACP expansion bills introduced in Congressbut no one has left the committee, even though the program is very popular among voters. According to an opinion poll In March, 78% of voters, including 64% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 95% of Democrats, support continuing the ACS.

So why hasn’t an extension been adopted if it’s so popular? Part of the reason could be the election itself.

“We’ve seen in broader budget fights that election-year politics can get in the way of many of Congress’ priorities, so it’s not surprising to see the slowdown,” said Amina Fazlullah, head of technology policy advocacy at Common Sense Media . told CNET.

Most industry insiders I spoke to were skeptical about an early return to the ACP countries.

One possibility for an extension could be pressure from the internet providers themselves. Providers may not want to invest in building expensive broadband infrastructure if they don’t know that customers will be able to afford it once it is complete. A survey conducted by Common Sense Media found that the existence of the ACS reduced the per-household subsidy needed to incentivize providers to build in rural areas by as much as 25% per year.

“Anything is possible,” Raza Panjwani, senior policy advisor at New America’s Open Technology Institute, told CNET. “I think we could also see a renewed focus on reviving the ACS as states see providers hesitant to compete for BEAD subsidies due to take-rate concerns without the ACS.”

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said permanent funding would be a key requirement for providers to support the program again.

“What worries me is that this will only be piecemeal, $7 billion here, $7 billion there. But then we always have to rely on the goodness of politics to repay and refresh ACP,” said Christopher Ali, professor of telecommunications at Penn State University. told CNET. “If we are serious about doing this, this needs to be a permanent budget item.”

“Providers rely on (the ACS) for their budgets, and more importantly, people depend on it,” Ali said. “We can’t play politics with the people’s internet, and that’s exactly what’s happening.”

While both Republicans and Democrats have introduced ACS expansion bills, Republicans favor tightening eligibility requirements. The ACS was open to anyone with an income of 200% or less federal poverty guidelinesor $60,000 for a family of four.

Republican lawmakers argued in a letter to the FCC last year that “the vast majority of taxpayer dollars have gone to households that already had broadband before the subsidy.” ACP reform in a Republican Congress could limit income requirements to those of the Lifeline program. This federal grant provides $9.25 for telephone or internet services and sets eligibility requirements at or below 135% of the poverty level, or $42,120 for a family of four.

“There would probably be what you could see as a merger of the ACP and the Lifeline program,” Blair Levin, a former chief of staff at the FCC and a telecom industry analyst at New Street Research, told CNET. “I think it would include certain changes in the ACS that are consistent with what the Republicans in the Senate wanted regarding the eligibility criteria. So it would be a more limited program.”