Over Twenty Million Americans Registered for 'Affordable Internet'

According to a report by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States, over 20 million American households have registered for discounts on internet services under a federal program aimed at closing the digital divide. The widespread reception of this program indicates that providing reliable internet service for low-income families is very challenging, an issue that the U.S. government's Affordable Connectivity Program seeks to address by offering a $30 monthly discount to eligible U.S. families. Recipients living in remote areas can receive even more, up to $75 per month, to help cover the costs of internet access from the U.S. government. The announcement from the commission comes nearly two years after the bipartisan infrastructure law first established this program, replacing a previous aid initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, stated, 'For a long time, closing the digital divide focused on one part of the equation - the lack of physical infrastructure to get online, but we know that for many people, even when there was technical access, the cost of going online was prohibitively high.' This program is not the only way the U.S. government is working to expand internet access. In the coming months, as part of a separate initiative to encourage broadband development, billions of dollars in infrastructure funding are set to be allocated to states.