More than 15,000 households in Lake County rely on a federal subsidy program for internet connection that will run out of funds on Friday.
The households are at risk of losing their internet access or defaulting on bills they can no longer afford without the subsidy, according to Candace Browdy, executive director for Connect Lake County, a non-profit dedicated to digital and inclusion.
As the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ends this month, since Congress did not approve additional funding to sustain the low-cost internet service program past May 2024, the non-profit organization and Lake County are pivoting their broadband plans to accommodate for the subsidy loss.
Since its passing in December 2021, the ACP provided free or low-cost internet services to low-income residents with a $30 per month subsidy. More than 23 million people nationwide received support from ACP for internet services, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Browdy said the subsidy helped connect local households without internet access, assisted those with low-speed internet upgrades to meet the household needs and helped people who had internet access via their cell phone get access in their home.
“What it comes down to for folks, no matter what bucket they fall in, is finding the money to continue with service,” she said. “So people are going to run into the problem of being disconnected in some form or fashion, or having delinquent bills.”
As the program sunsets, Browdy said the organization has shifted efforts from helping households enroll in ACP to notifying households of the imminent cut-off. The executive director said there is no local or state equivalent to the ACP subsidy offered by the Federal Communications Commission.
“We can educate people all we want, and we can give them access to all information. If you don’t have the money to pay for (an internet) plan, we can’t do anything about that,” she said.
Browdy said the ACP was never intended to be a long-term solution to improving internet access. Replicating the program would be “unsustainable,” she said, because the money needed to provide internet subsidies to qualifying households would be too large.
“There’s no funding vehicle,” Browdy said. “You couldn’t have enough money to fund it.”
Lake County is also working on developing solutions to improve high-speed internet connection countywide, with the adoption of the first-ever Broadband and Digital Equity Action Plan in December. The broadband plan outlines short-, medium- and long-term projects aimed at increasing internet access in the county.
Big-picture goals for the plan include to increase collaboration across internet accessibility organizations, remove barriers to access, improve device affordability, create opportunities for internet infrastructure installation and expand public internet access.
The broadband plan included provisions of support for ACP, so the county is evaluating the best use of those resources in light of the program ending, according to Keay Crandall, the digital equity manager for Lake County.
A map from the Lake County Geographic Information System/Mapping Division showing areas in Lake County that are unserved (light purple) or underserved (purple) by existing broadband connections.
The lowest rates of internet adoption are concentrated in Lake County communities that face compounding socioeconomic challenges, according to the broadband plan. Areas in and near Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion have high levels of internet availability, but households face barriers to access.
“Every resident and business in Lake County should be able to access reliable, high-speed internet, which is essential for work, school, medical needs and keeping connected,” said Lake County Board member Jennifer Clark, D-Libertyville, who chairs the county’s committee on broadband.
Lake County has also compiled a list of potential internet options for residents to consider. The Affordable Internet Plans website provides alternative options for mobile and internet service, including a list of providers and information about each plan, including eligibility.
Improving access
When it comes to internet access, there are three primary pieces, according to Browdy. The first being access to affordable internet service plans, the second piece is ensuring households have a device such as a laptop or computer and the last part is providing digital-skills training.
“We really think it’s important that people need to understand rudimentary basic, essential skills before they just start using technology for their own safety,” she said.
At Connect Lake County, residents receive a device upon completion of the digital skills education program. Browdy said the organization trains people on the same device they will receive at the end of the workshop, so they are familiar with the exact device. Teaching about cybersecurity is embedded in all CLC digital education, she added.
Browdy said the organization has seen real benefits when running workshops with a group of people, such as the Lake County Housing Authority with which CLC often partners.
“They’re getting the same skill-building workshops; they’re getting the same devices. Well guess what happens? Someone on the third floor has the same device as the person on the fifth floor, and they start helping each other,” she said. “It’s really important for us to create ecosystems with similar devices so that residents can become more self-reliant.”
Browdy said senior citizens often feel “empowered” after learning how to navigate a digital device with CLC.
The non-profit is also exploring a potential pilot program to provide a Wi-Fi network to an entire apartment building, ideally low-income apartments like a housing authority building, Browdy said. The program would be fixed wireless internet, set up similar to a hotel where each unit has its own connection.
She said the organization is working with some internet service providers (ISPs) and potential funders to pilot the program.
At the county level, Crandall said a digital navigator program is underway after a request for proposals (RFP) went out earlier this month. Digital navigators will provide technical support services for residents.
“We’re both looking for organizations that do not yet have these (digital navigator) services available in their organization, and folks that do to some extent and would like to expand that capacity,” Crandall said.
Training for the digital navigators will also be open to organizations not selected through the RFP. Crandall said this will expand the opportunity for more organizations in the county to engage in digital equity work.
Additional upcoming county initiatives include deploying public Wi-Fi hotspots, developing device donation and distribution campaigns, coordinating digital skills programs and developing the Lake County Digital Equity Coalition. The projects currently adopted in the broadband plan will be funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Crandall said.
One thing Browdy would like to see in countywide digital equity initiatives is funding for internet infrastructure, like inground fiber connection, in low-income communities.
“ISPs are willing to put fiber down because that either turns into internet subscriptions and the internet subscriptions over a period of time pay back the cost of fiber,” she said. “So, who’s going to get the fiber first? It’s not going to be Waukegan and North Chicago and Zion. It’s going to be the more-affluent communities. Our low-income communities are out of luck.”
Additional resources for residents with subsidized internet plans include a fact sheet in English and fact sheet in Spanish, developed by the Federal Communications Commission, which includes information about consumer protections and what steps consumers should take after the ACP ends.
chilles@chicagotribune.com
