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PRESS RELEASE

No Home Left Offline Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act

100 Organizations Join Together To Ask Congress To Renew the $30 Broadband Benefit For 23 Million Households Facing a Digital Cliff.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 8, 2024 – The No Home Left Offline Coalition has written to Congress, urging them to prioritize passage of [HR 6929 / S 3565], The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Extension Act of 2024, and renew the ACP. If the ACP does not receive additional funding, 23 million households who rely on the program to get online and stay connected will face unexpected and unaffordable increases in their home internet bills. 

The ACP is a $14.2 billion federal broadband benefit funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that provides eligible households with a monthly discount of up to $30 per month (up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands) and a one-time $100 discount toward a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. 51.6 million households, including 17.7 million unconnected households, are eligible for the ACP, making it a critical tool for closing America’s stubborn digital divide, two-thirds of which is due to affordability.

As the FCC stops accepting new enrollments to the program, the Coalition points to an imminent digital cliff for 23 million households relying on the ACP to cover the cost of their monthly internet service when funding runs out at the end of April 2024. They argue that if Congress does not pass [HR 6929 / S 3565], The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Extension Act of 2024, those families will soon see a significant spike in their internet bill and potentially lose service entirely. A recent report suggests that 2024 could be the first year in history that fewer households are connected to the internet than in the previous year. This would occur just as states prepare to make the biggest broadband investments in history using their Broadband Access, Equity, and Deployment (BEAD) allocation. 

The Coalition highlights that alongside inflation and economic uncertainty, a monthly increase of $30 per month, or up to $75 per month in tribal areas, is simply not what families need. With no clear path emerging to renew the funds, the Coalition is urging Congress to keep millions of Americans connected to the digital economy, education, healthcare, the social safety net, and critical government services.

The No Home Left Offline Coalition is a group of national non-profit organizations representing broadband, housing, healthcare, civil rights, municipalities, and education committed to advocating for the development, inclusion, and implementation of equitable policies that ensure that No Home is Left Offline. 

View the letters here.

SIGNATORIES

#OaklandUndivided

Access Telecom

Access Wireless

A Freeman Ins Co & Driving School

Alaska Literacy Program

Allentown Digital Inclusion Initiative

Andrena

Barn Quilt Association of Garrett County, Inc.

Bausy Books Consulting dba CFO For Women

Black Star Telecommunications & Fiber Services Inc

BNT marketing 

Brooksville Maine Broadband Committee

CASA, Inc. 

Catholic Charities Denver

Center for Changing Lives

City of Racine Wisconsin

Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community

Coastside Hope

Common Sense Media

Community Action Partnership Sonoma County

Community Action Partnership of Utah

Compudopt

Computers 4 People

ConnectLakeCounty

Council for Affordable and Rural Housing

Council of Community Services

CSC Consulting Group

Cumberland Plateau Regional Housing Authority

Cunningham Telephone Company, Inc.

Delaware County Community Partnership

Digital Durham, Digital Equity Collaborative

Digital Harbor Foundation

Disability Network Washtenaw Monroe Livingston

Diversity Cyber Council 

East Smithfield Public Library

Economic Action Maryland

EducationSuperHighway

El Raton Media Works

Excess Telecom 

Excite Cooking Labs LLC 

Garland County

Global Refuge

Gotham Food Pantry

Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance

Harrisonburg City Public Schools

Idealect

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies 

Jonathan Rose Companies

Keystone Internet Coalition

Latinx Digital Leaders Now

LEARN – Lifelong Education and Aging Resource Network, Inc

Levine’s Enterprises LLC

Lily of the Valley Emmanuel Church Of Jesus Christi

Lyons Communications

Macon Housing to Success Inc.

Maxsip

Moline Housing Authority

Montana Community Action Network

MSK Community Center

Multicultural Media, Telecom, and Internet Council

My Care Companions

Mycelia Foundation

National Apartment Association

National Association of Elementary School Principals

National Association of Housing Cooperatives

National Catholic Educational Association

National Church Residences

National Multifamily Housing Council

NEK Community Broadband

Nextlink Internet

Northeast Kingdom Community Action 

Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation

NPower

Oak Hill Collaborative

Open Tech Institute

Prime Nation

Project Ready

Reading Public Library

Satview Broadband Ltd

ScaleLIT

SGC

Shoes For Kids

St. Clement Manor

Stevens County Library 

Tech Connect

Technology Learning Collaborative

Texas Rural Funders

The Open Door/Wellspring House

Town of Ordway

United Palatine Coalition

United Way of Northern Utah

US Ignite

USU Extension

Villa Comunitaria 

West Custer County Library District

Westerly Public Schools

WinstonNet

Word Empowerment Church

Xyro Excuses

YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

 

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