HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — A federal program set to end in April will mean higher internet bills for those least able to afford it.
One of those is a Toano man, William Marshall, who only recently got internet access that it has been helping his son with schoolwork.
“We started this process before COVID started because he couldn’t connect to do schoolwork or homework from home,” he said. “He had nothing. … All Cox wanted was $6,800 upfront to put it in, and I didn’t have any way to pay for that upfront.”
Marshall credits 10 On Your Side for helping him get internet services to his home.
Now, he has to figure out how to pay for it if the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, ends.
ACP offers eligible households discounted internet and telephone services. Households could receive a discount of about $30 to $75.
“$19.99 is a heck of a lot better than $59.99 when you’re on a fixed income,” Marshall said.
Now, he may have to pay more for the internet.
The ACP is set to end in April unless Congress passes additional funding.
“It’s going to raise my bill by $30 a month, and it might make it to where I can’t afford to have it,” Marshall said. “$30 a month, there’s a lot of money to somebody that lives on under a thousand dollars a month and being able to have internet and reliable connection.”
He is one of more than 400,000 Virginia households benefitting from ACP. According to the White House, 898,492 North Carolina households receive the discount.
“In Norfolk alone, we have over 30,000 households that have been using this $30 a month discount for internet,” said Norfolk Councilwoman and Southside Network Authority chairwoman Andria McClellan, “and that could be the decision point about whether or not you’re going to have Internet in your home.”
McClellan said broadband access allows kids to stay up to date with schoolwork and people to access healthcare and mental health services online.
“It’s not a nice to have,” she said. “It is a need to have, just like, you know, your water and your electricity. I really worry that folks are going to be cut off from the lifelines that they need.”
She works with the Southside Network Authority. The project focused on enhancing digital connectivity in the 757.
McClellan said the project would also bring more internet providers to our area, meaning better service and prices.
“In Hampton Roads, affordability is actually the issue with regard to access,” she said.
President Biden requested $6 billion for ACP. That money would keep ACP going and provide affordable internet for millions of households.
Congress has yet to act.
“They haven’t done that yet,” Marshall said. “We keep hoping and waiting, but they haven’t done it yet.”
The Federal Communications Commission has already shut down new signups and warned people about the wind-down.
Right now, full benefits will stop at the end of April. Some people may get partial benefits until May.
After that, the FCC said if Congress doesn’t give the program more funding, the ACP will no longer provide benefits to households.
