Biden’s vow of affordable internet for all is threatened by the looming expiration of subsidies

President Joe Biden recently traveled to North Carolina to promote his goal of affordable internet access for all Americans, but the promise for 23 million families across the U.S. is on shaky ground. “I think this should be high priority for Congress,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has worked with a bipartisan group of governors to promote the program, said in a phone interview. But the program has enabled people who have signed up to avoid the kinds of financial trade-offs Alexander described, said Brian Vo, chief investment officer of Connect Humanity, a nonprofit promoting widespread internet access. “With the ACP’s help, internet providers are seeing more willing subscribers, more beneficiaries of their investments that then help them stretch their capital further, and thusly stretch state investments, as well,” Denny said. Though those lower-cost plans wouldn’t work as designed without support from the federal subsidy program, a spokesperson for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said BEAD “will still connect everyone in America and ensure that newly connected households have access to affordable plans.” Several Biden administration officials, including Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, have highlighted the need for more funding for the program during trips across the country in recent months.