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| Biden says high-speed internet access is ‘not a luxury' but a ‘necessity' as admin rolls out new program | |
| 2022-05-11 | |
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced a deal with more than a dozen U.S. internet service providers to give high-speed internet to Americans living in low-income areas, stressing that access is "not a luxury" but a "necessity." Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and others agreed to provide "high-speed" internet access for $30 per month. The Biden administration also announced Monday a federal subsidy for low-income households that will pay up to $30 for internet access, effectively making the plan free for qualifying households. Americans can apply for access to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) at a new government website that launched Monday. The president, during a White House Rose Garden event Monday afternoon, said internet is "pretty consequential." "High-speed internet is not a luxury any longer, it is a necessity," Biden said. "That’s why the bipartisan infrastructure law included $65 billion to make sure we expand access to broadband internet in every region of the country – urban, suburban, rural, everywhere." Biden, on Monday, thanked the internet service providers, calling the agreement a "big deal," and saying it is a "great example of what we can achieve when the federal government and the private sector work together to solve serious problems." Americans qualify for the program if their income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. They can also qualify if a member of their household uses any of a number of other federal programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP food stamps, or a veterans pension, according to the White House. The ACP plan allows for download speeds of 100 Megabits per second, but qualifies that those speeds will only be available where "the provider’s infrastructure is capable of it." "The Biden-Harris administration is grateful for the efforts of these companies, and encourages additional internet service providers to join this effort to close the digital divide by offering high-speed, low-cost plans," the White House said in a statement. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #7 "Sure it's free...but you only get one channel." |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2022-05-11 17:20 |
| #6 Sure wish I had access to broadband; fiber 200’ away but “more than $20,000 build-out fee” to connect. Satellite is data limited and hasn’t worked at all for two months, with no fix in sight. Cell service is ok (if not on ATT) but slow and erratic. But when the apocalypse comes it will take a while to find me... |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2022-05-11 14:07 |
| #5 "You get a persuadatron....and you get a persuadatron...and you get a persuadatron..." |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2022-05-11 12:39 |
| #4 This is basically a subsidy to the child grooming industry. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-05-11 09:33 |
| #3 Because brown people never invented electricity, racial equity demands that we pay for their internet service. Plus it channels huge piles of money to the telecom companies. A future Supreme Court will discover a right to broadband internet service previously hidden under a penumbra. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2022-05-11 09:28 |
| #2 In other words we get to pay for their internet access also. |
| Posted by: Chris 2022-05-11 09:01 |
| #1 The Joe Bidet regime - bringing their high speed train expertise to the internet. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-05-11 08:38 |