Summary: Broadband as a Lifeline

Phyllis Jackson, 78, lives outside Pittsburgh. The Affordable Connectivity Program’s $30 monthly subsidy gave her internet, video calls with grandchildren, online medical appointments, electronic banking. The ACP ran out of money on June 1, 2024. Congress did not renew it. An estimated 5 million households have cut internet service entirely since the program ended.

The digital divide among older adults is three gaps stacked together. Access: 21 percent of rural Americans lack broadband at threshold speeds, and FCC maps overstate coverage. Affordability: 10.6 million ACP subscribers were aged 50 or older; more than 30 percent of Americans 65 and older lack high-speed home internet. Ability: many older adults lack the devices, skills, or confidence to use what is available, and digital literacy programs are underfunded.

The healthcare system now assumes connectivity. Patient portals, electronic prescription management, remote monitoring, care coordination platforms: each requires broadband and a capable device. The populations most likely to lack both are older, poorer, rural, and disproportionately Black and Hispanic. This is an equity problem wearing a technology costume.

The BEAD program allocated $42.45 billion to connect every American to high-speed internet. As of mid-2025, no funding has been distributed for eligible deployment projects. Bureaucratic and political disputes over technology requirements and labor standards have delayed action. Even under optimistic scenarios, construction will take years. For a 78-year-old who needs telehealth now, fiber arriving in 2028 is not a solution.

After the ACP’s expiration, broadband adoption stands at 92 percent for households earning over $100,000 but just 57 percent for those under $30,000. New York became the first state requiring providers to offer a $15 monthly plan for qualifying low-income residents. The broadband industry has pushed back against state affordability mandates.

Congress needs to replace the ACP with a permanent affordability program. BEAD deployment needs to accelerate. Digital literacy support needs to be embedded in healthcare and senior services, not treated as a separate program. Every system that moves online without maintaining an offline alternative is making a decision about who matters. Phyllis did not lose a convenience. She lost a lifeline.