Federal internet discount program to run out of funding

Megan Gleason, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·3 min read
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Apr. 22—It appears hundreds of thousands of New Mexico households will soon lose out on federal internet discounts, potentially losing the ability to pay for internet altogether.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is set to run out of funding by the end of May unless Congress approves more dollars.

The program provides internet discounts — up to a $30 monthly discount for low-income households and up to a $75 monthly discount for low-income tribal households. It also allows households to get up to $100 off the purchase of a laptop, computer or tablet one time.

More than 183,000 households in New Mexico are enrolled in the program, according to the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.

That's about 1 in 5 households, according to a White House fact sheet. New Mexico received more than $136 million in funding from the program since 2021, saving New Mexican families about $6.3 million every month on internet bills.

Drew Lovelace, acting director for the state's broadband office, said in a statement in March that affordable internet access has helped New Mexicans access education, health care and economic opportunities.

"The Affordable Connectivity Program has been instrumental in our efforts to create a more connected and equitable society," Lovelace said.

April is the last month participants of the Affordable Connectivity Program will receive a full discount, according to the Federal Communications Commission. A partial discount could come through in May, but there aren't any dollars left after that, according to the FCC.

Registration for the program closed in February.

The FCC conducted a survey in 2023 and got responses from 5,317 households using the Affordable Connectivity Program. More than 77% of respondents said losing the discount would force them to change their internet plan or lose the internet altogether, according to the FCC.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $14.2 billion for the program. Congress has the ability to extend the program by approving more funding.

That's exactly what all five members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are pushing for.

Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján joined nearly three dozen other senators, mostly Democrats, in writing a letter on March 15 to Senate and House leadership, seeking to include funding for the internet discount program as well as a rural wireless network program in future legislation lawmakers have to pass, like a government funding package.

"Congress must leverage upcoming must-pass legislation to invest in these key programs and ensure that families across the country are not left without access to affordable high-speed internet," the senators wrote.

Democratic Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vazquez and Teresa Leger Fernández also joined a bipartisan coalition of 158 representatives to send a similar letter on March 20 to congressional leadership.

The representatives said any lapse in the Affordable Connectivity Program, even for a short period of time, would be devastating, and lawmakers need to fund the rest of 2024 in order to figure out the long-term future of the program.

"At a time when broadband accessibility is more important than ever, we cannot afford to lose the progress we have made in our efforts to bridge the digital divide," the representatives wrote.