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Thousands of Nebraskans have taken advantage of a federal program that provides reduced-cost internet access to lower-income families.
It’s called the Affordable Connectivity Program. It can save lower-income families up to 30 dollars a month, and in some cases even provide free high-speed internet services.
According to the White House, slightly more than 47,000 households in Nebraska have signed up since the program started in May. But, federal estimates say up to 220,000 more Nebraska families could be eligible.
That’s why Vice President Kamala Harris held an event today in Charlotte, NC , and also sent a letter out to governors, including Pete Ricketts, asking states to do more to let people know about the program.
Some suggestions: advertise the program’s website – getinternet.gov - on state websites, let people who receive state welfare benefits know about the program, and provide the federal government with information – called data-matching agreements - that could help quickly determine if a family applying is eligible.
Another benefit of the program is a one-time one-hundred-dollar discount to help families purchase a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer.
At the event, the Vice President said access to high-speed internet is a necessity, not a luxury, in today's world.
Rohini Kosoglu is a domestic policy advisor to the Vice President. She said the administration is also working on providing internet services to rural areas that lack connectivity.
"For places that have no internet, that’s unacceptable," she said. " So the President and the Vice President have come together to make sure this will change in this country, that people start to get internet access and they’re in the groundwork literally to get access to internet.”
To see who qualifies and to apply if you do, go to getinternet.gov.