C|Net

Millions of Black Americans have been impacted by the digital divide, the gulf between people who have access to any internet at all and those who don't.

There's a stark disconnect between our era of internet connectivity and a looming sense of detachment, separation and seclusion for some students in K-12 schools. On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the US Department of Education and return education oversight to state and l

When Wendyliz Martinez found the internet lacking in her mother's home in the Bronx, she could have chalked it up to a number of issues: a faulty router, the Wi-Fi setup or a slow speed tie

The broadband industry is constantly evolving. New developments in internet connectivity, from Li-Fi to 5G internet, have changed how we get online over the years.

Shopping for home internet just got a little easier. In April, the Federal Communications Commission launched an initiative to simplify internet shopping.

When millions of Americans cast their ballots on Election Day, the Affordable Connectivity Program won't be up for a vote, but the results could dictate whether we see an internet subsidy of its size again. The ACP was passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when Congress dedicated $14.2 billion to making the internet more affordable to low-income users.

In May, the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program officially ran out of money, leaving 23 million households with internet bills that were $30 to $75 higher than the month before. That's if they decided to hang on to their internet service at all: 13% of ACP subscribers, or roughly 3 million households, said that after the program ended they planned to cancel service, according to a Benton Institute survey

For as long as the internet has existed, there’s been a gap between those who have access to it—and the means to afford it—and those who don’t. The vast majority of federal broadband spending over the past two decades has gone toward expanding internet access to rural areas. Only $14.2 billion went to making the internet more affordable through the Affordable Connectivity Program.

More than 1 in 5 households with an internet subscription in the US utilize the Affordable Connectivity Program, and it’s almost unanimously supported by voters: Polling from Public Opinion Strategies and RG Strategies shows that 78% of voters want to extend the ACP, including 64% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 95% of Democrats. A 

Aldo Soledad relies on his phone's data plan to take care of his internet needs. When it comes to living without home internet, he isn't alone. Millions of Americans are without broadband, either because of a lack of access or because they can't afford it.