Brown pushes to protect Ohioans from rising costs of high-speed internet – The Tribune

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, joined legislation this week to protect Ohio residents from rising costs of high-speed internet by expanding the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides coverage to more than one million Ohio households. — in rural, suburban and urban communities across the state.

Brown’s bipartisan, bicameral Affordable Connectivity Program Expansion Act would fully fund programs created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which Brown helped write and pass. The program is administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is expected to be fully completed by the end of April 2024.

The program is so popular that its funding is set to run out this month, well ahead of the expected date under the law. If the program isn’t extended, Ohioans could see their internet bills increase by $30 a month.

“Every home and business in Ohio deserves access to affordable, high-speed internet,” Brown said. “The Affordable Connectivity Initiative has lowered the cost of high-speed internet for one in four Ohio homes, from Steubenville to Sandusky. It’s just common sense — we need to act now to expand it.”

Brown has long been an advocate for high-speed internet infrastructure. In August, he announced a $162.5 million federal investment in high-speed internet infrastructure and community projects in Ohio under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund.

In June, he announced massive investments to expand high-speed Internet access to 183,000 Ohio homes. In October, Brown joined 31 colleagues in urging congressional leadership to provide additional funding for the Affordable Connectivity Plan immediately as funding for the Affordable Connectivity Plan was expected to run out.