Millions of low-income Americans could see their internet bills rise next month as funding for a national assistance program is set to expire.
Funding will dry up for the Affordable Connectivity Program at the end of April. The FCC launched the benefit when a global pandemic forced many people online and exposed disparities in internet access.
“I couldn’t afford it. It was the one bill I couldn’t afford,” said Wayne Bell.
Over the past few years, the 65-year-old Cleveland resident has found a following on social media for his music career.
“I’m a musician. I have 55 songs on 37 streaming platforms. I’m 65 years old. I started with a Cavs song,” he explained.
Bell, who goes by the online moniker “FunkMeisterBabybell,” told News 5 he was using cell phone data to create his music and social media content because traditional home internet was too expensive.
“You’ve got to constantly stream. That’s how you develop your fan base,” Bell said.
Affordable internet access has been a challenge for millions of Americans.
The median monthly cost to U.S. households is $75. According to a survey by Consumer Reports, more than a quarter of respondents found it difficult to afford internet bills. 78% considered it a basic necessity, on par with utilities like electricity and water.
The White House estimates that one in four Ohioans have been using the Affordable Connectivity Program. Despite bipartisan support, a bill to extend the benefit has stalled in Congress.
“This expires in the next few weeks. What this means is prices, costs are going to go up for people,” Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told News 5 of his support for the bill.
Cleveland has been working to tackle the digital divide since before the pandemic.
“When we saw people working from home, it was important. But what also happened during the pandemic that some people are forgetting is we had a U.S. Census. A lot of that census was conducted online. So effectively the message that was sent then is if you weren’t online, you didn’t count. If you didn’t count, you didn’t matter,” said Joshua Edmonds, the CEO of DigitalC.
In January, the Cleveland-based nonprofit internet provider hosted a launch party for its city-wide network.
Watch our previous coverage below of how DigitalC plans to bring high-speed, low-cost internet to all:
DigitalC now covers 20,000 homes with its service.
“As we see the Affordable Connectivity Program going away, I would want residents to know that we’re working diligently to expand its network because we want to cover them and we believe that they’ll be able to take full advantage of this,” Edmonds told News 5 Wednesday.
“And they won’t have to worry about going a few months without a service that they just can’t afford.”
Donations and public funding have helped the nonprofit expand its services, installing free equipment in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods and offering $18 monthly internet service.
Bell uses DigitalC and said it’s helped him grow his online presence.
“You just plug it right in. Most people can afford 18 bucks a month. It’s 19-something with the tax. You can’t beat that,” he said.
As an estimated 23 million households brace to lose the internet subsidy, Edmonds said he’s heard from other cities curious about the DigitalC model. He hopes it could be a blueprint for affordable internet access.
“People are going to see the impact of that well beyond. And I could see Cleveland then being the center for how we actually do telecommunications right here,” he said.
