FCCs New Broadband Subsidy Hits Sweet Spot for Lower-Income People of Colors Internet Bill Nee

Overall, 30 percent of adults who make less than $50,000 a year said they pay between $51 and $75 each month for internet services, and another 28 percent said they pay between $26 and $50 -- meaning qualifying households (no more than 135 percent of U.S. poverty guidelines, as well as free-and-reduced lunch participants, Pell Grant recipients and those who suffered an income loss due to COVID-19) could have most if not all of their bill covered by the FCC’s new subsidy, assuming they end up receiving the maximum amount of $50.

Those payment breakdowns are similar among both white and non-white households in the same income bracket.

Since January 2020, a third of adults (34 percent) said they’ve seen their at-home internet bill amount change. Among those who saw their charges change, 62 percent said it was because their service provider increased prices, including 79 percent of white lower-income adults and 60 percent of lower-income people of color. Nearly 1 in 5 lower-income people of color (19 percent) said their bill total changed because they upgraded their service.

So far, awareness of the emergency internet subsidy program remains low, although it’s higher among non-white, lower-income adults: Among all adults, 23 percent said they have heard “a lot” or “some” about the new broadband benefit program, including 17 percent of lower-income adults. Among the lower-income group, awareness jumps 12 points for people of color, with 29 percent saying they’ve heard “a lot” or “some” about the new subsidy.

“Free internet sounds kind of ‘scammy,’ so that’s a reality we have to deal with,” Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, said during an FCC roundtable about the benefit on Feb. 12. “If you don’t believe the message, then you need somebody that you trust to give that message to you.”

Both messaging about the program details and partnerships with community organizations will be key to driving awareness, stakeholders have argued. During the FCC’s roundtable last month, Dr. Fallon Wilson, vice president of policy at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, suggested the agency work with faith communities, school districts, colleges and universities, as well as grocery store operators and gig economy employers, to reach out to those who qualify for the program. And she also pushed for offline strategies, like door knocking, to reach unconnected Americans.

“You have to have both offline and online ways of engaging people, and it’s been effective,” Wilson said during the roundtable. 

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