MILFORD, Del. - Milford is reminding residents they can get financial assistance on their internet bills and more.
According to the city, the Affordable Connectivity Program is a federal benefit that aims to help low-income households. The program offers a $30 discount per month for eligible people towards their internet bill. That federal benefit is raised to $75 a month if the home is on Tribal lands. In addition, the benefit provides a one-time $100 discount towards a computer or tablet.
Eligible households participate in federal assistance such as SNAP or Medicaid. Their income must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The City of Milford says only 26 percent of eligible households have applied.
“High-speed home internet allows Americans to work remotely, send their children to school, and access healthcare, job training, and critical government services,’’ says Milford Mayor Archie Campbell. “We are committed to closing the broadband affordability gap in Milford so that every resident has equal access to the opportunities of the digital age.”
The town referred to a report from national nonprofit EducationSuperHighway that says approximately 28 million households in the United States do not have highspeed broadband. Of these, 18 million are offline because they cannot afford an available internet connection.
In Milford, this broadband affordability gap is concentrated in underserved communities and disproportionately impacts people of color. According to the city, previous efforts to provide the resources households need to connect have fallen short. Milford is now taking extra steps to ensure its Haitian community is aware of the program.
To get started, households can visit GetACP.org, EducationSuperHighway’s pre-enrollment tool, to see if they qualify and to learn about which documents they will need at the time of application as well as see a list of “free with ACP” home internet plans.
