Low-Income Americans Benefit From Cheap Internet. So Do Comcast and Charter

In 2021, US lawmakers created a $14.2 billion fund to help low-income families across America pay for internet service they would otherwise struggle to afford. Since then, nearly 19 million households have come to rely on the subsidy — which provides $30 or more in monthly bill aid, helping to narrow the long-standing digital divide that has placed low-income families at a disadvantage for everything from educational services to employment opportunities. Broadband providers, including Comcast and Charter, have come to count on the program as a fresh source of income at a time when their customer growth rates are slowing. But the program is on track to be exhausted by early 2024. The top six internet service providers participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) have raked in more than $2 billion since its inception, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission. Charter is the biggest beneficiary, receiving $910 million from early 2022 through the end of February 2023, implying it’s cleared more than $1 billion by now. Verizon’s wireless unit TracFone took in $250 million from the program, and Comcast and mobile company T-Mobile US. each collected more than $200 million, according to the FCC. In addition to the government subsidies, the internet service providers also get revenue from the households that sign up for additional services, suggesting that the total benefit from the ACP is much higher.