124,000 Iowans to lose monthly internet subsidy

Tens of thousands of Iowans are set to lose a monthly stipend for internet access at the end of April if Congress does not approve more funding, putting their connection to vital services like health care and work opportunities at risk.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, created in the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, provides $30 a month for low-income Americans to help pay their internet bill, and $75 in Tribal regions.

But that money will run out at the end of April, and Congress has not acted to extend the funding.

More than 124,000 Iowa households are receiving the monthly stipend to help pay for their internet access, according to data from the White House. The program has provided more than $68 million to those households over the last two years.

While the $1.2 trillion government funding package passed by federal lawmakers in March did not include extra funding for the program, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to keep it funded through the end of the year.

The bill, which would devote $7 billion to the program, has 221 cosponsors in the U.S. House and three sponsors in the Senate, but experts are skeptical it will have the support to become law.

None of Iowa’s members of Congress, who are all Republicans, have signed on to the proposal.

President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing for more funding for the program, calling it a vital lifeline for vulnerable families and a key effort to “narrow the digital divide.”

The president views having internet service “like water ... an essential public necessity that should be affordable and accessible to everyone,” aide Tom Perez said in January.

In a press call with reporters this week, Stephen Benjamin, a senior adviser to Biden, called on House Republicans to fund the program.

“If congressional Republicans fail to act, 23 million Americans, including millions of their own constituents, will lose access to affordable, high-speed internet and may not be able to access the benefits it brings,” Benjamin said.

The program was open to families with an income of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line, or around $62,400 for a family of four.

It stopped accepting applicants in February, and April will be the last full month of funding. Enrollees may receive a partial stipend in May, but without a congressional fix, the benefit will end this spring.

‘Digital divide’

The impact of the program shuttering for Iowa families will be significant, said Community Action Broadband Network co-founder Curtis Dean. The organization works on digital equity in Iowa and other states.

Once the funding runs out, the Iowans enrolled in the program would need to switch to a cheaper plan, cut spending on other necessities or end their internet access, Dean said.

It’s unclear how many people enrolled in the program will be unable to afford any home internet connection, Dean said, but he said he thinks some Iowans will lose their service.

“We'd all like to hope that the vast majority of those enrollees figure out another way to keep their internet service so they can stay part of the digital economy and not have to go back on the other side of the digital divide,” Dean said. “But I think it's inevitable we're going to see some people fall through the cracks.”

Iowans can access other program to help fill in the gaps, but none are as generous as the Affordable Connectivity Program subsidy.

The Federal Communications Commission has a Lifeline program that provides families with an income of less than 135 percent of the poverty line with a $9.25 a month stipend for either a phone or internet bill, if their provider participates in the program.

The large investment in broadband access in the last few years was partially motivated by the pandemic pushing important daily necessities online. Students attending virtual classes sometimes resorted to school and restaurant parking lots to complete school work, and Dean said some families will likely have to return to that.

“We’re going to see that parking lot in the schools and libraries for kids doing homework is going to come back now,” he said. “And we are going to, again, be asking our public institutions like libraries, like schools, to pick up the slack for the inaction by our leadership to be able to restore funding” for the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Muscatine provider

One rural internet provider is optimistic that all its customers will be able to keep access after the federal benefit ends.

Muscatine Power and Water, a nonprofit offering fiber internet in Muscatine and Fruitland in Eastern Iowa, has about 200 customers enrolled in the subsidy program, said Erika Cox, director of customer and technology experience.

Most of those customers were receiving service through the utility before the program began, but some customers were able to receive internet service for the first time because of the stipend, Cox said.

Cox also said the pandemic elevated the need for a reliable internet connection, and the program helped Muscatine community members participate in the digital economy.

Muscatine Power and Water has informed enrolled customers of the upcoming end of the program, and Cox said she expects those customers will be able to keep access and switch to a more affordable plan if needed.

Still, she said, she hopes Congress will pass more funding for the program.

“We used to think of it maybe just for entertainment, but it's well beyond that,” she said. “It's for kids to be able to do their school work, it's for people to be able to work from home, even people are doing health care through home now.”

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com