Millions of Californians will see higher internet bills as a federal program’s funds deplete
Millions of Americans will soon see higher internet bills as a popular government program that granted $30 monthly discounts for internet service dwindles on funds.
April will be the last fully funded month for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which launched in 2021 to provide subsidized internet for millions of households. The program was extremely popular among Californians, with over 2.9 million households enrolled in the state as of Feb. 8.
The program’s final dollars are expected to be distributed in May to households as a partial benefit before funds are entirely depleted.
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The federal government has called on internet companies to offer low-cost access to the internet as a replacement for the program, but there is no guarantee that will happen. The Biden administration has previously called on Congress to provide an additional $6 billion to extend the program through the end of the year, but lawmakers have yet to take any action.
ACP isn’t the only pandemic-era program that has been discontinued recently.
Last year, California’s pandemic-era SNAP benefits stopped distributing extra money to qualified families and millions of state residents were also at risk of losing their Medi-Cal coverage under another pandemic-era policy.
About 23 million households nationwide benefitted from ACP.
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