Federal Benefit Helping , Low-Income Households , Afford Internet Coming to an End.
CNN reports that next month, low-income
Americans face a crisis that threatens millions
of households with economic distress.
The United States government says that
it can only pay about half of what it owes
on a popular federal benefits program.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announcement
represents the first tangible impact of Congress' failure
to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
The pandemic-era benefit provides
monthly discounts on internet service
for over 23 million households in the U.S.
As a result of dwindling funds,
April will be the last month
households can receive full benefits. .
In May, ACP will only be able to
provide 46% of the normal benefit
payments before ending entirely in June.
The end of the program means that millions of
people will have to choose between paying
for internet, housing and food.
According to the FCC, Internet service providers (ISPs)
could decide to close the gap for millions of households
that will be impacted by the program coming to an end.
We encourage providers to
take efforts to keep consumers
connected at this critical time, FCC statement, via CNN.
The FCC went on to add that ISPs could offer discounts, low-cost
internet plans or take other measures to ensure that service is
not interrupted for millions of low-income Americans.