The US government has enforced guarantees from 20 internet providers that low-income Americans will receive a discount on their internet subscriptions. Including available subsidies, in practice this means that fast internet of at least 100 megabits per second will become virtually free for tens of million households.
The initiative is part of President Biden’s massive $1 trillion investment package in US infrastructure, which was passed by Congress last November. In that package, making the internet more accessible is “a top priority”, according to a press release of the White House.
Essential
“High-speed internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. Too many families are without high-speed internet because of the cost or have to cut back on other essentials to make their monthly internet payments,” the White House wrote, urging households to sign up. writing for the so-called Affordable Connectivity Program. About 48 million households would be eligible for the program.
In the run-up to his presidency, amid the corona crisis, President Biden once pointed out that children from low-income families often have difficulty taking online classes, for example due to poor internet connections. “And if we didn’t know before, we know now: fast internet is essential,” he said at a meeting at the White House last month.
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