The Vermont Community Broadband Board is raising alarm over the potential end of a federal program offering broadband discounts to low-income households, warning that tens of thousands of Vermonters could soon be unable to afford high-speed internet.
Board Executive Director Christine Hallquist wrote to members of the Vermont House and Senate last week suggesting that, if the federal government does not re-up funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program by April, the state should consider taking action.
“It really could send somebody back into the digital darkness,” said Rob Fish, the board’s deputy director, in an interview Monday. “They’re going to have to pay $30 more per month in order to access a basic service that you need to participate in society.”
A bipartisan group of members of Congress — including Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. — introduced legislation earlier this month that would allocate $7 billion to keep the program running. But it’s not clear yet whether the measure will make it over the finish line, especially as Congress sees contentious debates over federal spending.
“It’s essential that we get this program renewed,” Welch said in an interview Monday.
In Vermont, 25,000 households currently make use of the Affordable Connectivity Program, according to the broadband board. The program offers up to $30 monthly discounts to households whose incomes are at or below 200% of the federal poverty rate — about $62,000 for a family of four. Households can also qualify if they participate in federal aid programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known by its former name, the Food Stamp Program.
Recipients include one single mother of four in Vermont, Hallquist wrote, who has to work from home to care for one of her children who has mental health issues. The woman makes $986 per month, according to Hallquist; without the broadband subsidy, she would have to spend $85, or almost 12% of her income, each month on internet service.
Those numbers aren’t financially sustainable, Hallquist said in an interview, adding that the board has heard from a number of Vermonters that they won’t be able to afford internet service if the federal stipend lapses — creating “an economic divide.”
Hallquist wrote that the state broadband board plans to present lawmakers with policy proposals aimed at making internet service more affordable in the near future.
The Affordable Connectivity Program launched in 2021 with funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Nationally, more than 22 million households have enrolled in the program since, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
But the FCC, which administers the program, has said funding for it is slated to run dry by April. And the commission has already taken steps to wind the subsidy down. It plans to stop accepting new applications for enrollment in the program by Feb. 8.
Welch said in an interview with VTDigger on Monday that he hopes Congress will pass a measure extending funding for the program — perhaps as part of a larger spending package for 2024 — before any household’s broadband funding elapses in April.
He noted that consensus over spending, on any issue, is hard to come by in Congress. Lawmakers passed a short-term spending bill last week that headed off a government shutdown until at least March, but they continue to disagree on long-term funding plans.
Still, Welch pointed to the legislation’s bipartisan support — it has both Democratic and Republican sponsors in the House and Senate — as reason for hope. He said he’s heard little partisan debate about the merits of affordable access to internet service.
President Joe Biden’s administration has also asked Congress to allocate new funding for the program.
“We’ve got conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats on the same page here,” Welch said. “So that’s the biggest reason I have some optimism that even in this very contentious budget year we may be able to get this renewed.”
