For more than two years, a key federal broadband program has been a lifeline that helped people afford the internet by pouring billions of dollars into efforts to close the digital divide.
That could all change in the next few weeks when the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) runs out of money, leaving around 125,000 West Virginians — and millions more Americans — without a benefit that has improved internet access across the country.
Since 2021, the program has given eligible low-income households between $30-75 a month to make their internet bill cheaper or, in some cases, completely free for the people who struggle the most with consistent access. The program also gives a one-time $100 benefit to help pay for devices and equipment.
The program has been significant in West Virginia, one of the least connected states in the nation. Almost the entire state population meets federal definitions for groups that have historically been less likely to use computers or the internet.
But barring a last-minute intervention from Congress, the program could soon end.
In February, officials stopped accepting new enrollments, taking affordable internet off of the table for eligible households. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the program, says that it has just enough cash to fully operate the program through the end of April before running out sometime in May.
Congress would need to extend the program’s funding, but has yet to bring it to a vote. In public comments and media interviews, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin have said that they would support more funding, but West Virginia’s representatives in the House — both of whom voted against the 2021 infrastructure law that created the ACP — have not discussed the issue publicly, and did not respond to emailed questions.
Now, the ACP is set to expire at the same time as West Virginia officials are using a flood of resources from the federal government to improve broadband access across the state.
Even as the number of households with broadband in West Virginia increases in the coming years, it could mean little if people can’t afford the internet they now have access to.
Gaylene Miller, state director of the West Virginia AARP, said older West Virginians make up a large number of people enrolled in the program and would be hit hard by it running out of money. Research has shown that older adults rely on the ACP to access work opportunities and telemedicine, vital supports for their lives.
“It’s unfortunate, particularly in a rural state like West Virginia where access to the internet is already difficult and challenging,” Miller said. “But access to the internet is just one piece of the pie — it’s got to be affordable.”
The ACP is the main way West Virginians get affordable internet
The Affordable Connectivity Program began as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the country. As stories of students working on homework in restaurant parking lots and adults struggling to connect to telehealth and remote work circulated, the federal government announced that it would use one-time funding of $14.2 billion to create the program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
As officials have worked to improve broadband access, cost has been a significant obstacle in getting people connected.
“The higher your income is, the more likely it is that you have home broadband,” said Colby Humphrey, an officer with the Pew Charitable Trust’s Broadband Access Initiative. He added that the ACP has been key in expanding access to affordable internet in the country.
Still, even with that potential, the program got off to a slow start. In 2022, West Virginians eligible for the ACP told Mountain State Spotlight that they knew little about the program, and local nonprofits that could play a key role in getting people signed up said that they were not given information from the federal or state government about it.
Since then, West Virginia officials have encouraged people to sign up for the program through press releases and a public communications campaign.
And the number of households enrolled in the program has doubled, going from roughly 69,500 households enrolled in June 2022 to around 125,000 last month. But that’s still just a fraction of the roughly 360,000 households in the state that are estimated to be eligible for the ACP benefits.
West Virginia is about to get over a billion dollars to improve access to broadband and state officials had planned to use the ACP to help people afford the internet once it reached their homes.
“The ACP is currently the primary program addressing affordability in West Virginia,” the state wrote in a plan submitted to the federal government last year about how it plans to deploy the $1.2 billion in funding to build out broadband infrastructure.
The West Virginia Department of Economic Development, and the Office of Broadband did not respond to questions about how it planned to deal with affordability in the absence of the ACP.
The program could still be saved, but time is running out
At this point, the only way to save the ACP would be for Congress to pass legislation that allocates more funding, a request that broadband advocates, more than two dozen state governors, and 174 mayors have called for in recent months. The Biden administration wants the program to receive $6 billion in funding, enough money to extend the program to the end of 2024.
Two appropriations bills in Congress, one in the House and one in the Senate, would extend the money. But neither bill has been brought to the floor of a chamber at this point, and while both bills have bipartisan support, the majority of sponsors in Congress are currently Democrats.
In the Senate, Capito said she is part of a working group that is drafting a plan to reform the program and find a long term funding solution. She said changes are needed to stop fraud within the program but did not cite examples.
“I remain concerned about the 124,540 West Virginians that use the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is set to expire at the end of next month,” Capito said.
Last month, Manchin told a communications industry publication that he supported funding for the ACP. The other two members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation, Reps. Carol Miller, R-WV, and Alex Mooney, R-WV, did not respond to emailed questions about extending the program.
Right now, ACP supporters say that they are focused on securing more funding before the money runs out. Without the program, “we’re going backwards,” said Angela Siefer, the executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.
“Are we really okay as a country with kids doing their homework in a Taco Bell parking lot?” she said. “Because that’s where we’re headed.”