A new government program seeks to encourage Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer lower rates to low-income customers by distributing federal funds through the states. The only problem is that ISPs are reluctant to offer the suggested rates.
ACA has obtained a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed by more than 30 broadband industry trade groups, including Connects and the Fiber Broadband Association, as well as several state-based organizations. The letter raises “a sense of both excitement and urgency” about their opportunities to participate in the Broadband Capital, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The newly created BEAD program provides more than $42 billion in federal funds to “expand access to high-speed Internet by funding planning, infrastructure, deployment and adoption programs” in states across the country. (NTIA).
The money first goes to the NTIA, and then is distributed to states after they receive approval from the NTIA to provide a low-cost broadband Internet option. The letter from the ISP industries claims that a flat rate of $30 per month for high-speed Internet access is “totally out of step with the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest-cost, hardest-to-reach areas.”
The letter urges NTIA to reconsider the low-cost service option rate that has been proposed or approved so far. They have completed all stages of the BEAD program.
Americans pay an average of $89 per month for Internet access. New Jersey has the highest average bill at $126 per month, according to a survey by . Research in 2021 It found that 57 percent of households with annual incomes of $30,000 or less have broadband access.
