Without federal internet subsidies, state efforts to offer low-cost broadband could be impacted

According to state broadband officials in Michigan, Vermont and Pennsylvania, the termination of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) could not only impact the 23 million households on the program, but also those who live in areas where broadband is being built out. In Michigan, for instance, the state wants to require broadband companies receiving grants under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to charge lower-income people no more than $30 a month. Had Congress not ended the program, broadband being created through the BEAD program would have essentially been free for low-income households participating in the ACP. Eric Frederick, Michigan’s chief connectivity officer, noted in an interview with Route Fifty that about a third of the state’s households who now have internet access rely on that ACP. Without the subsidy, he estimated that a quarter or a third of the households in the areas where broadband service is being built out under BEAD may struggle to afford it. “Without the subsidy, I know we're gonna lose folks,” Frederick said. “It's not going to be affordable.” Similarly, Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, noted that 14% of households with internet service in her state relied on the subsidy. She agreed that some households in the areas where broadband is being built will struggle to afford it without the assistance.