The Affordable Connectivity Program is an economic tool for Texans

Nearly one in five Texas households will get some bad news in the coming days: The price they pay for the internet will spike unless Congress acts quickly.

Today, more than 1.7 million Texas households and nearly 23 million households nationwide are enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a $30 monthly subsidy designed to ensure that low-income Americans are connected to the internet.

But here in Texas and across the nation, we are at an important crossroads. Despite bipartisan support for additional ACP funding, and a White House request for supplemental appropriation, the ACP will run out of funding as soon as April. Internet service providers may already be sending customers the unsettling notice that their subsidies will end.

It may seem self-evident, but it bears repeating: Internet access in our modern world is a necessity, not a luxury.

We see how Texans caught on the wrong side of the digital divide are cut off from modern life. Parents drive their children to public Wi-Fi hotspots just so they can do their daily homework. A routine visit to the doctor’s office can become a day of lost wages for some because they lack the internet needed to access telehealth.

If Congress doesn’t act, 1 in 6 American households will lose their internet subsidy, and those who cannot afford the payment could be left without internet. This means that more than 5 million Texans and close to 70 million Americans could lose internet access.

My team at Via One Services provides affordable wireless and internet plans to low-income folks through the ACP in Dallas and beyond. Every day, we help some of the most vulnerable Texans get and stay connected, and we see how their lives are improved because they have reliable connectivity through the ACP.

We’ve met folks in the community who have used the ACP to access medical care, job opportunities and stay in touch with family members. They’ve regained stability in their lives through having regular access to communication services.

For these consumers, more than 50% of whom have an income of less than $10,000 per year, this monthly subsidy can spell the difference between paying for internet or essential medication. We take pride in serving these people, many of whom are veterans, people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence survivors and disabled Americans. Programs like the ACP are a “hand up” that so many Americans need.

Some members of Congress are critical of this program because not all ACP participants are getting online for the first time. While this is true, it fails to account for the difficult financial trade-offs and juggling that low-income households know too well. If a family struggles to pay for broadband, they may be able to pay one month but not the next if a sudden cost like a car repair or medical emergency comes up.

The ACP plays an essential role in getting new folks online, but also in keeping folks connected consistently. “Affordable” internet means much more than low cost — it means being reliably connected every month.

Connecting people is the right thing to do, for many reasons, not the least of which is that it makes for overwhelming economic success. A recent study found that internet subsidy programs markedly increase participation in the workforce and decrease unemployment, resulting in $2,200 in additional annual economic value per low-income household. In other words, the $30 per month subsidy reaps more than six times as much in value. The ACP is a success story of government and private enterprises working together to solve the systemic problem of getting and keeping low-income Americans connected with affordable internet service.

We must keep Americans connected and the ACP is the best tool that we have to do that. It is a popular and bipartisan program that offers low-income families a lifeline to participate in modern life.

It’s time for Congress to do the right thing and keep low-income Americans online by funding the ACP. I respectfully and urgently call on our representatives and senators to lead the way by providing near-term funding for the ACP and ensuring reliable funding for the future of this critical program.

David B. Dorwart is the chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Via One Services, a Dallas Morning News Top 25 Workplace, which owns and operates enTouch Wireless and Assist Wireless, two of the largest Lifeline and ACP providers in the country. He is also the board chairman of the National Lifeline Association, ( a nonprofit dedicated to providing low-income Americans with sustainable connectivity through the ACP and Lifeline programs.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com