![Since signing up to the Affordable Connectivity Program last year, Myrna Broncho's internet bill has been paid in full through the discount. The program offered a $75 discount on internet access in tribal or high-cost areas like Broncho's, but it was underfunded.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa0%2F71%2F9adc041e47dab0a08867bf6d8013%2Fbroncho-02.jpg)
Since signing on to the Affordable Connectivity Program last year, Myrna Broncho's internet bill has been paid in full through the discount. The program offered a $75 discount on internet access in tribal or high-cost areas like Broncho's, but it was underfunded.
Sarah Jane Tribble/KFF Health News
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Sarah Jane Tribble/KFF Health News
POTHOLE RESERVATION, Idaho — Myrna Broncho realized how much she needed an internet connection after breaking her leg.
In the fall of 2021, the 69-year-old climbed a ladder to the top of a shed in his pasture. She had to fix the roof that sheltered her horses and cows. So she took the drill in her hand and pushed down.
Just then she slipped.
Broncho said he broke his leg when he fell, caught between a pair of ladder rungs. “The bone was sticking out and the only thing that could support it was a sock.”
Broncho returned home with his arms crossed, searching for his phone. “I’ve never really handled a cell phone before,” she said, so it never occurred to her to take it with her.
Broncho required nine surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Her hospital was more than two hours away in Salt Lake City, and an internet connection at her home was essential for her to track her records and appointments and communicate with her medical staff.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal lawmakers launched the Affordable Connectivity Program with the goal of connecting more people to jobs, schools and doctors. More than 23 million low-income households ultimately signed up, including Broncho. The program offered a $30 monthly subsidy on internet bills, or a $75 discount in shortage or high-cost areas, such as Broncho's.
Now ACP is short on funds.
![Myrna Broncho lives on the Fort Hall Reservation in rural southeastern Idaho on Broncho Road, named for her family. Broncho is enrolled in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which offers discounts on internet service. “I love it,” she says, but the program is coming to an end.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5a%2F82%2F45f989a743fe872d45be13329531%2Fbroncho-01.jpg)
Myrna Broncho lives on the Fort Hall Reservation in rural southeastern Idaho on Broncho Road, named for her family. Broncho is enrolled in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which offers discounts on internet service. “I love it,” she says, but the program is coming to an end.
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In early May, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) challenged efforts to continue funding the program at a Commerce Committee hearing, saying the program needs to be improved.
“As currently designed, ACP is not doing a good job of providing support to those who really need it,” Thune said, adding that too many people who already have access to the internet have used the grants.
There was a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers trying and failing to fund the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, which must first pass. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) then traveled to his hometown to let his constituents in tiny White River Junction know that Congress was still working on a solution.
As funding for the program dwindled, both Democrats and Republicans pushed for new legislative action with proposals to address concerns like those raised by Thune.
As the program expired on May 31, President Joe Biden's administration continued to urge Congress to take action. Meanwhile, the administration announced that more than a dozen companies, including AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, will offer lower-cost plans to ACP enrollees, which the administration said could affect up to 10 million households.
A survey of participants released by the Federal Communications Commission found that more than two-thirds of households had unreliable or no internet connection before enrolling in the program.
Broncho had an internet connection before the grant, but on this reservation in rural southeastern Idaho where she lives, about 40 percent of the 200 households enrolled in the program did not have an internet connection before the grant.
Nationally, about 80% of urban residents report having a broadband connection at home, compared to about 67% of non-urban residents. Horrigan reviewed data collected in the 2022 census.
The FCC said the program's May 31 termination will affect about 3.4 million households in rural areas and more than 300,000 households in tribal areas.
The end of federal subsidies for internet bills “will result in many families having to make the difficult choice of no longer using the internet,” said Amber Hastings, an AmeriCorps member who serves the Shoshone-Bannock tribe on the reservation. Some of the families Hastings enrolled had to agree to a plan to pay off past-due bills before participating in the program. “So they were already in a difficult situation,” Hastings said.
Matthew Rantanen, technical director for the Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association, said ACP is “extremely valuable.”
“Society has moved everything online. Without broadband connectivity, we cannot exist and operate as members of society,” Rantanen said. He said lack of connectivity leaves indigenous communities and “people like Myrna at a disadvantage”.
Rantanen, who advises tribes across the country on building broadband infrastructure on their lands, said the benefits of the ACP grant are two-fold. ACP helped individuals connect and encouraged providers to build infrastructure.
“You can guarantee a return on your investment,” he said, explaining that the subsidies help customers pay for internet services.
Since Broncho enrolled in the program last year, her internet bill has been paid in full with the discount.
Broncho used money he had previously budgeted for his internet bill to pay off credit card debt and used the loan proceeds to pay for gravestones for his mother and brother.
As ACP became underfunded, the program only provided partial grants. So in May, Broncho received a bill for $46.70. She expected to have her full bill paid by June.
When asked if he would maintain internet connectivity without subsidies, Broncho said, “I will try.” She then added, “You’re going to have to do it,” even if it means getting less services.
Broncho said he uses the Internet for things like shopping, watching shows, banking, and taking care of his health.
Broncho said the internet is “essential.”
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