BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — More than 548,000 Louisiana households could lose affordable internet access by the end of April when funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program expires, according to a report .
If funding for the program is not renewed, millions of seniors, veterans and low-income Americans who rely on ACP could be out of luck.
What are Affordable Connectivity Plans?
“The Affordable Connectivity Program is a federal program designed to help offset wireless costs. The ACP began as a pandemic-era relief program and became a permanent federal subsidy as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.” According to a report from WhistleOut. Search engines are dedicated to finding services.
ACP currently provides qualifying families with a $30 monthly benefit to offset internet costs, according to the report.
Low-income families can qualify in a variety of ways, including those with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
How many Louisiana families could be affected?
In the report, analysts at WhistleOut looked at the ACP to understand how U.S. states would be affected if the program ended.
The report states that if the ACP program ends, 548,192 households in Louisiana will be affected. To fund ACP for one additional year, approximately $19,349,120 is required.
Check out the 10 U.S. states with the largest number of ACP households that could be severely impacted if the ACP program ends:
- 1. California: 2,803,599
- 2. New York: 1,701,192
- 3. Florida: 1,685,581
- 4. Texas: 1,666,632
- 5. Ohio: 1,141,482
- 6. North Carolina: 889,073
- 7. Michigan: 887,332
- 8. Pennsylvania: 737,194
- 9. Georgia: 699,446
- 10. Illinois: 676,391