Higher internet costs could be on the way for low-income Pennsylvania residents as federal subsidies run out

Thousands of Pennsylvanians could soon be hit with higher internet bills when the Affordable Connectivity Program starts to run out of money next month. Unless Congress approves more funding, April 2024 will be the last time many residents receive the benefit in full. The looming end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) comes as Pennsylvania starts to spend an unprecedented surge of federal investment intended to bring high-speed internet access to every U.S. resident. The state Broadband Development Authority ha approved more than $200 million in grants to internet service providers. And that’s just the beginning: Pennsylvania will receive another $1.1 billion in federal broadband funding within the next two years. But the end of the ACP could hamper the commonwealth’s efforts to ensure that residents can afford the service offered by these new networks. “If we want to achieve a world where everyone has internet service, we need a program like the ACP,” said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. “Affordability is the main thing keeping people offline, and that’s especially true in rural areas where a lot of this infrastructure money is targeted.”