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Law360 (April 2, 2021, 6:24 PM EDT) -- The Federal Communications Commission has already accepted hundreds of internet service providers into the new program that it is crafting with the $3.2 billion that Congress gave it as part of the latest stimulus package to help subsidize internet service for low-income households.
More than 300 service providers — 319, to be exact — have received the green light to participate in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which will reimburse internet service providers who offer discounts to eligible households during the pandemic and beyond, the FCC said Thursday.
And "there are more to come," according to Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
"Every day we are approving additional interested providers, developing the program systems to make it available for consumer sign-up, and working hard to ensure that eligible households most at risk of digital disconnection can soon take advantage of this benefit," Rosenworcel said in a statement.
The accepted providers together operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and half of the United States' territories, according to the agency.
AT&T and its internet service providing daughter company BellSouth have signed on to provide mobile and fixed service for the program respectively. Comcast and Windstream are also among the hundreds of accepted carriers.
News that the agency had already onboarded hundreds of providers comes about three months after it first asked for comment on the best way to go about approving new providers quickly, as well as how it should be tracking households for eligibility and what services should be eligible.
The program will knock $50 off the cost of monthly internet service for most participants and $75 per month for households in Indian Country. Participants are also eligible for a one-time $100 award to go toward the purchase of a computer or tablet from program participating service providers, according to the agency.
People are eligible for the benefit if they qualify for Lifeline, which is another FCC program that helps subsidize the cost of internet service, are in the free or reduced-school lunch program, had a substantial drop in household income since the pandemic started, or received a Pell grant for the current academic year.
Those who receive Medicaid and SNAP benefits would also be eligible.
This would make large numbers of families with college students and school-aged children eligible for the program.
Millions of people in the United States still live without reliable internet service at home, a phenomenon known as the digital divide. At the end of 2019, some 14.5 million people didn't have access to internet with speeds of at least 25/5 Mbps, the agency's benchmark for what counts as broadband.
And Indian Country has long lagged behind other parts of America when it comes to broadband access, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting in 2018 that more than half of those living on Native lands lack internet access — a considerable gap, compared to the 8% of the nation that the FCC estimated lived in areas without broadband at the time.
--Editing by Emily Kokoll.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
