We Need To Make Affordable Internet Access Permanent

One of the greatest untold urban stories in America is playing out right now. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) — which launched at the start of 2022 to help struggling families cover the cost of monthly broadband plans — has connected over 20 million households to the internet across the nation, opening countless doors for education, jobs, health care and community connections. After the difficulties of the pandemic, our families, friends and neighbors are coming back stronger than ever before, using high-speed internet to transform their lives. The city of Tacoma (WA), where I serve as mayor, demonstrates the impact of this kind of program. When I took office in 2018, only 67% of households had broadband internet subscriptions at home. Yet, only about 4,000 Tacoma households had enrolled in a discounted internet service program for low-income households from the major internet service provider in our area. Five years later, approximately 82% of Tacoma households subscribe to broadband, and more than 17,000 Tacoma households have come online, and that’s largely due to the ACP. We need our elected leaders — in Congress and the Biden administration — to deepen their efforts to close the digital divide. Will the ACP fully close the digital divide? Sadly, no. We need even more federal investment — and local leadership — to ensure that everyone in America has access to broadband internet. However, the ACP is a critical part of the equation. It’s already closed more of the digital divide than any program in American history. 

[Victoria Woodards is the mayor of Tacoma (WA) and the president of the National League of Cities.]