Phyllis Jackson loves being online. She uses the internet to look up recipes, practice for her line dance group and play YouTube videos so the house doesn’t feel lonely. Jackson, a retired administrative assistant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, said she couldn’t imagine life without an internet connection. “I consider the internet like my best friend a lot of times,” she told CNET. “It makes me feel that I’m not alone.” Jackson got her first home internet connection through the Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era fund that provided $30 to $75 a month to help low-income households pay for internet. In May, the $14.2 billion program officially ran out of money, leaving Jackson and 23 million households like hers with internet bills that were $30 to $75 higher than the month before.
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