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A website supported by a non-profit called the Affordable Broadband Campaign is calling attention to the lack of renewed funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal subsidy for low-income earners to afford broadband services.
Americans can now track the time until funding for the ACP expires, down to the second, thanks to a website that encourages visitors to email and call members of the U.S. Congress and urge renewed funding.
The site, named DontDisconnectUs.org, also lists a series of upcoming dates that are crucial for the ACP, like Feb. 7, when ACP enrollment freezes and 30 million eligible households become blocked from receiving the discount, according to the website.
As previously reported by Broadband Communities, the FCC has begun taking steps to start “orderly wind-down procedures” to prepare for the end of the program without additional Congressional funding.
“Internet access is essential to participating in today’s world, and for millions of Americans, the Affordable Connectivity Program has helped them to get online,” the DontDisconnectUS.org website stated. ”Despite the undisputed success of the ACP, the program will run out of funding in just over 90 days – unless Congress acts.”
On Jan. 25 the website promoted the date as “Dont Disconnect US Day,” which was scheduled for the same day that millions of ACP recipients began receiving notices that the ACP is ending.
The DontDisconnectUS website stated that 960,000 veterans and 4.6 million citizens above the age of 65 are currently participating in the ACP, which provides relief for nearly 23 million Americans.
The online campaign gives users the option to either call or email their local representative in Congress. The website also outlines steps for what the site’s creators consider a successful call.
The organization credited with the website, the Affordable Broadband Campaign, is described by the DontDisconnectUS website as “a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring affordable and robust broadband for all.”
Gigi Sohn, the American Association for Public Broadband’s executive director, recently urged her followers on LinkedIn to participate in the efforts to save the ACP.
In a post on Dont Disconnect US Day, Sohn wrote that the ACP “has allowed nearly 23 million US households to have a stable Internet connection, a necessity for full participation in our society and economy.”
She said time is running out to save the subsidy, which provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.
“Unless Congress acts very soon, these households will be disconnected, those who help them get online (digital navigators) will lose their jobs, and broadband providers will be less willing to serve the most rural parts of America,” she wrote.
According to previous statements from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, funding for the ACP will expire in April.
Efforts to renew funding for the program include a push to approve The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024, which has been sponsored in the House of Representatives by members of Congress from both parties, like Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
If the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024 is passed, it would provide an additional $7 billion to fund the program, according to a release from Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), who is co-sponsoring the legislation in the U.S. Senate.
