Federal funding program to help families pay for internet bills could end soon

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – A federal program that helps nearly 500,000 South Carolina households pay for internet service each month could end in the coming weeks.

The Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) provides discounts on monthly internet service to households below a certain income threshold, a cost that some may not be able to afford without the plan.

Congressman Jim Clyburn called Affordable Connectivity a valuable program and wanted to see more funding spent on expanding it.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to make broadband affordable. Accessibility of things is one thing. It’s affordable for them and that’s why we’re working as hard as we can,” Clyburn said .

But others like Gov. Henry McMaster say it’s time for pandemic-era projects like this one to end.

“Projects that are initially started and viewed as purely temporary have a way of growing and getting bigger and bigger. I think we need to be very careful about that,” McMaster said.

South Carolina has received nearly $2.5 billion for the program since its launch in late 2021, with one in five households participating, according to the White House.

Jim Stritzinger, director of the state’s Office of Broadband, predicts many of those people will still have the service if the program ends.

“The beauty of ACP is that it helps many families adopt the Internet, plug it into their homes and experience what broadband feels like for possibly the first time,” Stritzinger said.

In the past few years alone, South Carolina has allocated more than $1 billion to expand broadband access, much of it driven by federal funding.

The state’s broadband office provides some of the funds as grants to internet service providers so they can build broadband infrastructure.

“Affordability has always been an important factor in whether we award grants…even if ACP is eliminated, many providers will be offering very affordable services,” Clyburn said.

Streisinger said the money South Carolina has invested and will continue to invest in broadband expansion delivers value beyond home connectivity.

“Getting fiber to the right places will be transformative for the state. Of course, we want residents to be able to use it, but it activates everything. It activates travel and tourism, it activates precision agriculture. It activates precision agriculture for our economy. All the different parts are going to be revitalized,” Clyburn said.

Low-income households can apply for internet bill assistance through the federal Universal Service Fund program. But they won’t get as much funding through the Affordable Connectivity program, and fewer people will qualify.

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