Millions Need the Broadband Program the FCC Just Put on Hold

Internet access is at least as crucial to taking part in the 21st-century US economy as a phone or a car. But one-third of adults have no broadband connection at home. For low-income families with a household income of less than $20,000, it’s closer to 60 percent. The new Federal Communication Commission chairman Ajit Pai has promised to close this so-called digital divide. But he recently put a stop to the expansion of a key government program to offer subsidized broadband access to low-income Americans. Advocates and educators say it’s a move that will leave behind.