Biden announces partnership with internet providers to lower costs for low-income households
Biden announces partnership with internet providers to lower costs for low-income households
By Donald Judd, Paul LeBlanc and Maegan Vazquez, CNN
Updated 1901 GMT (0301 HKT) May 9, 2022
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/09/politics/white-house-partnership-internet-low-income-households/index.html
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Washington (CNN)President Joe Biden on Monday announced that 20 of the nation's internet providers have committed to lowering costs for low-income households, a step the administration says will increase access to high-speed internet for 48 million households nationwide.
"Over the last few months, my administration has worked closely with internet providers. This is the case where big business stepped up -- urging them to cut their prices and raise their speeds," Biden said at a White House Rose Garden event about the effort. "So now families who are eligible can select a plan from a participating provider and receive high speed internet at no cost in most cases."
The announcement follows provisions in the administration's bipartisan infrastructure law to subsidize wireless internet for low-income families under the Affordable Connectivity Program, which reduces internet service costs for eligible families by up to $30 a month through grant funding.
Biden thanked the participating providers -- which include national names like AT&T, Comcast, Frontier, Spectrum and Verizon, as well as more local providers such as Jackson Energy Authority and Ideatek. The President said participating providers cover about 80% of the US population.
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