Roughly 90,000 low-income Detroiters are at risk of losing a federal discount on internet access, threatening to undo the city’s efforts to address the digital divide.
The Affordable Connectivity Program provides $30 per month for internet service and up to $100 in one-time funds to help purchase a laptop, computer or tablet. An estimated 23 million Americans overall could lose the discount in April if Congress does not provide additional funding, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Detroit’s Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion is wrapping up a two-week blitz to sign up 20,000 residents through in-person events. Wednesday, Feb. 7 is the final day to apply. The FCC is winding down the program as it stares down a “funding cliff.” Bills to provide $7 billion in additional funding were introduced in the U.S. House and Senate in January, but it’s unclear whether Congress will act before time runs out.
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“It’s going to undo a lot of our work,” said Christine Burkette, Detroit’s digital equity director. “It’s going to be tough for people who have used it for the past two years.”
Burkette said the city is trying to sign up as many people as possible in case more funding is allocated. Burkette said she doesn’t expect additional application periods to open up, but hopes those who are signed up will receive discounts if Congress approves funding to keep the program running. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, is a co-sponsor on the House bill.
Residents should have been notified about the expiration date by the FCC through mailers sent out in January. The city is notifying Detroiters who are signed up for text alerts and will be posting information online later this week, but does not have a list of addresses for those who are signed up.
Burkette said she’s working with internet service providers like XFinity/Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon and 123NET to provide affordability programs, but many Detroiters are likely to lose internet access if the funding runs out.
Burkette said it would cost roughly $32 million to keep the program running in Detroit each year. She said that’s too much to cover using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The discounts are available for households at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, which equates to $49,720 for a family of three. Residents can sign up at GetInternet.gov or at remaining in-person events this week:
- Tuesday, Feb. 6: 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. at Patton Recreation Center, Lasky Recreation Center and Northwest Activity Recreation Center.
- Wednesday, Feb. 7: 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. at Northwest Activity Recreation Center.
The Federal Communications Commission labeled Detroit’s digital divide “among the most extreme in the nation” in 2015. At the time, 38% of residents and 63% low-income households did not have broadband internet at home.
Roughly 20% of Detroit households don’t have an internet subscription and 42% of Detroit households lack access to high-speed internet, according to the latest census data. Low-income Detroiters were less likely to have internet access – 33% of households earning less than $20,000 lacked an internet subscription compared to 8% of households earning $75,000 or more.
“The socio-economic disadvantages (of low-income residents lacking internet) is really going to impact us long-term when it comes to health and economic stability,” Burkette said.
Burkette, a Detroit native, has served nearly a full year as the city’s second director of digital equity and inclusion. She visited the Northwest Activities Center on Monday to help residents sign up for the discount program.
Detroit is part of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, a coalition of communities pushing Congress to appropriate more funding for the program. Burkette said the city hasn’t had direct contact with members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
Burkette said the city is also working on a plan to create its own high-speed internet network. The city shelved a pilot project to install fiber optic lines in the Hope Village neighborhood, a project launched by her predecessor Joshua Edmonds. Burkette said the program was deemed too expensive.
“We’re looking at a city-wide strategy instead of doing that,” Burkette said.