Internet Service Essentially Free for Millions Under New Biden Program

With a discount already in place, 20 companies have agreed to offer service for $30 a month. Advocacy groups are hoping states will adopt similar pricing requirements.

President Biden announced Monday that he’s convinced 20 major broadband providers, like AT&T and Comcast, to offer low-cost high-speed internet plans for $30 a month or less. Combined with a $30 monthly discount lower-income people are already receiving through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Biden said millions will be able to get online for free.

The president, whose popularity is being harmed by skyrocketing inflation and other worries about the economy, said the lower prices will “give millions of families a little more.”

Left-leaning consumer groups hailed the move. They also expressed hope that it is a sign the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will push states with broadband projects funded under the new federal infrastructure law to require more service providers to also lower their rates.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required that states mandate that the broadband companies they contract with to upgrade service offer customers a “low-cost option.” Congress did not define what that means, leaving it up to states to decide. However, NTIA must approve how states define “low-cost” before allocating broadband dollars available through the law.