Left in the Dark: 23 Million American Households Struggle Without the Affordable Connectivity Program

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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