The initiative to connect Patricio’s family to the internet is an affordable connectivity plan. Starting in 2021, it offers qualifying low-income households a $30 discount from certain providers. For households who don’t need a lot of data, that’s enough to cover their entire internet service, while those who need more capacity can get it for a whopping $360 for the entire year.
Now, as the Connectivity Program ends, millions of households across the United States, including about 368,000 households in Massachusetts, will lose subsidies.
Recipients of pandemic-era programs will only receive about half of their usual payments in May, with only enough money left to make partial payments before the funds are completely depleted, the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.
“It feels like a betrayal or a disappointment,” said Vayola Florus of the City of Boston, who helps connect locals with resources. “We brought them this opportunity, this resource, and now we’re just taking it away and we don’t have any options after that.”
Florus has been enrolling families in the program for the past few years and is now warning them they are about to lose their subsidies.
In Boston, nearly 50,000 Households will be affected, approximately 800,000 New England.
“If the numbers don’t jump out at you and scare you, I don’t know what will,” said Peter Favorito, senior digital equity manager for the City of Boston.
Favorito said that while many who sign up for the program are typically close to the federal poverty level, families with children receiving free or reduced-price breakfast or lunch in the Boston school system, tribal members, people on Medicaid and Mass Health and Military veterans also benefit.
Even his grandfather, Lawrence Favorito, was a recipient. The 94-year-old West Roxbury resident said without Internet access, he wouldn’t be able to do the simple things he enjoys, like reading David Baldacci books on his Kindle.
Lynn Dottin of Hyde Park uses it to share information with doctors and read the news. Dodin, a retired health care worker who is now disabled, said the program helped her connect with the rest of the world.
“I was able to connect with some friends in Pittsburgh or relatives in Connecticut,” she said. “I can only learn new things on the computer, which I probably wouldn’t be able to learn without the computer.”
Politicians have been pushing for continued funding of the program. Last year, Gov. Maura Healey joined two dozen other governors in signing a letter asking for support from congressional leaders.
In a statement, Sen. Ed Markey called on “partners around the table to support getting this work done.”
“I urge Republicans to talk to their constituents and understand how many of them value and rely on this affordable broadband plan,” Markey said. “We cannot give back what we have accomplished in closing the digital divide by ending this program. progress.”
Flores said she knows there are people who are skeptical of the plan.
“We always see a misconception that access to the internet is just a luxury,” she said. “I would say it’s just as important as health care or education. Because when people are not connected, they are isolated.”
In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council declared that access to the Internet is a human right.
In Massachusetts, the state created a Broadband Institute in 2008 as part of an effort to bridge the digital divide.
A recent report from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute found that while the state has one of the highest levels of broadband availability in the country (99 percent of locations have access to cable, fiber, or digital subscriber lines), the main factors preventing people from using broadband Access to the internet comes at a cost. The average lowest price for broadband in the state ranges from $42 in Greater Boston to nearly $80 in Cape Cod and the Islands, the report said.
Participants surveyed also said using a device is a challenge, and even if they do own a device, it’s usually just a smartphone. People without access to the Internet reported going to libraries, community centers or the homes of friends or family members to get online.
“Poorer communities have poorer technology infrastructure and are often forced to continue to rely on the copper wires of traditional phone lines, which provide lower quality service,” the report states.
“This ‘digital redlining’ reflects historical redlining in housing that denies equal opportunity to communities of color and low-income families.”
Efforts are being made to maintain the program.
Two bills in Congress would provide additional funding to keep families connected through the remainder of 2024, but it’s unclear whether they will survive a debate dominated by immigration, inflation and other issues vying for attention and funding. passed.
In Boston, the city has offered several grants to refurbish equipment and connect residents to telehealth services as part of a push for digital equity.
Despite the support, people like Dodin in Hyde Park say they are unsure how they will pay their internet bills next month. Many are on fixed incomes, disabled or unable to make ends meet.
Margaret Kelly, a librarian at the East Boston branch of the Boston Public Library, has helped people sign up for federal programs and is now considering her next steps. At her location, 160 people are already waiting for a free mobile hotspot.
“Unfortunately, if this succeeds, I think the need is going to be huge,” she said.
This story was produced by The Globe money, power, inequality team, bridging the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston.You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Esmy Jimenez can be reached at esmy.jimenez@globe.com.follow her @esmyjimenez.