TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – In 2021 when the pandemic was raging, President Joe Biden led a bipartisan effort to pass the Affordable Connectivity Program as part of the Infrastructure Act so low-income families would have subsidized internet service.
It was especially important to get low-income families hooked up since their children would need to do their schoolwork from home.
But Congress let the funding expire in April without allocating more money so as of June 1, subsidized internet was no longer available.
That means 154,000 households in Districts 6 and 7 lost the subsidy putting many households at risk of losing their internet altogether.
“Our children need internet access to do their homework or interact with their teachers,” said Michelle Simon, the Director of the Office of Digital Inclusion in Pima County. “When they lose internet access at home, they’re no longer able to participate fully in our economy, in our society, in school, in health care, in education.”
Pima County is trying to track down as many of those households as possible to let them know, that even if they’ve lost the subsidy, there are low-cost plans available if they qualify.
And with school just around the corner for many of these families, now is not the time to lose the internet connections their children depend on.
“We are trying to reach as many families as possible, as many households as possible, in Pima County that were impacted by the loss of the affordable connectivity program,” Simon said.
It’s especially troubling for the children who will fall further behind in school.
There is a solution on the horizon which was announced by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday.
“Arizona was allocated nearly $1 billion in funding for broadband deployment, to connect every Arizonan to reliable internet services,” she said.
Pima County is also building an internet ring around the county which will provide access to many hard-to-reach areas.
Things are moving to connect the people who were getting subsidies but have now lost them.
The issue is, that those will take months or years to plan, build the needed infrastructure and get the homes hooked up.
Thousands of homes need the help right now after losing the subsidies which ranged from $30 per month to $75 a month.
“The loss of the affordable connectivity program really did put us behind in helping people in the here and now,” Simon said. “But it’s even more than that. Our community members lack opportunity when they don’t have access to the internet.”
For those who have lost the subsidy, call 520-724-7694 to see if there are low-cost alternatives in your area.
Cox Cable and Comcast/Xfinity also have low-cost programs in certain areas.
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Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
