Broadband subsidy program that millions use will expire next year if Congress doesn’t act

One of the features that President Joe Biden cited in his plan to bring internet to every home and business in the United States by 2030 was affordability. But an important federal program established to keep broadband costs down for low-income households is set to expire in 2024. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has not reached everyone who is eligible. According to an Associated Press analysis of enrollment and census data, less than than 40 percent of eligible households have utilized the program. But the program’s future is uncertain. Its primary source of funding, a $14.2 billion allocation, is projected to run out by the middle of 2024. That could end access to affordable broadband for millions of people and hinder the Biden administration’s push to bring connectivity to the people who need it most. “ACP is the best tool we’ve ever had to help people afford broadband,“ said Drew Garner, broadband policy advisor for Common Sense Media.