Pandemic internet aid is ending, but digital divide remains

Thousands of people in communities across the country are about to grapple with losing broadband service. Free services started to help low-income families during the pandemic and a pledge not to cut off service or charge late fees to customers struggling financially are ending June 30. If left unaddressed, this end threatens to unravel a precarious thread of the social safety net at a particularly difficult time for many American families. Angela Siefer, the executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, said that although the school year is winding down, the need for access to the web -- and the challenge of affording it -- has not gone away. The industry's charitable internet programs have been helpful, said Siefer, but ultimately amounted to a temporary "Band-Aid" on the still-gaping digital divide. "We had this problem pre-covid," Siefer said. "All covid did was draw attention to it because of online learning. We have to come up with a substantial, long-term solution."