Biden announces program offering discounted internet service

By AAMER MADHANI and WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says 20 internet companies have agreed to provide discounted service to people with low incomes. The program announced Monday at a Rose Garden event at the White House could effectively make tens of millions of households eligible for free service. The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included funding that provided $30 monthly subsidies on internet service for millions of lower-income households — $75 in tribal areas. Some 48 million households will be eligible for $30 monthly plans for service at least 100 megabits per second. Biden says high-speed internet access is a necessity, not a luxury.