CHILEKASI ADELE: THIS BORING, LITTLE BOX – NO BLINKING LIGHTS… NO LITTLE SOUNDS – CONNECTS PAIGELYNNE GONYEA TO THE WORLD…
PAIGELYNNE GONYEA: “I got my following kind of out of dumb luck, but when I saw that I had that following, I decided to try to do something with that instead of just letting it sit there.”
ADELE: THAT *BOX* CONNECTS HER WITH 103 THOUSAND TIK TOK FOLLOWERS – MORE THAN DOUBLE A PACKED HiOUSE AT THE JMA WIRELESS DOME… AND UNTIL NOW, SHE’S PAID NOTHING FOR IT… BUT SOON, THE GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE THIS VITAL NECESSITY – LESS AFFORDABLE…
GONYEA: “People now need internet for either job searching for school for their work. And it needs to be accessible…”
ADELE: THE PANDEMIC-ERA FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT PAID HER BILLS IS SHUTTING DOWN THIS MONTH… IT’S CALLED THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM – OR A-C-P…
ADELE: VERIZON SENT PAIGELYNNE AND OTHERS EMAIL AFTER EMAIL – WARNING THEM THIS DAY WAS COMING… SHE SAYS SOME OF HER FRIENDS HAVE ALREADY LOST THEIR FREE OR DISCOUNTED INTERNET SERVICE… PEOPLE IN HER BUILDING WHO STILL HAVE INTERNET ARE SHARING IT…
GONYEA: “People are trying to team together in the building to chip in $10 here and there for access to their Wi-Fi.”
ADELE: THE CITY OF SYRACUSE SAYS 4 OUT OF 10 OF YOUR NEIGHBORS… USE THIS PROGRAM THAT’S ENDING… AND ONCE IT ENDS – THE CITY WORRIES THAT *EVERYONE* FROM SENIORS TO STUDENTS WILL LOSE THEIR CONNECTIONS TO *EVERYTHING* FROM HEALTHCARE TO HOMEWORK…
SCIPIONE: “If we at this point take away the Internet from over 40% of the Syracuse population that are relying on this benefit and, you know, the Internet now becomes too expensive for them to afford, then we’re taking away the opportunity for them to participate and being a contributing member of society.”
ADELE: THE CITY OF SYRACUSE RUNS A PROGRAM CALLED SURGE-LINK… IT PROVIDES INTERNET CONNECTIONS FOR $10 A MONTH… THE CITY USED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S MONEY – THE ACP – TO PAY THE REST… WHEN THE A-C-P ENDS – THE SUBSIDIES END WITH IT…
SCIPIONE: We don’t want the Internet to be a choice between, you know, whether or not students can do homework at home or whether or not someone needs to pay for groceries or daycare.
ADELE: PRESIDENT BIDEN’S ASKED CONGRESS TO CONTINUE FUNDING THE A-C-P… THERE IS CURRENT BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION PROPOSED, BUT NO PLANS SO FAR TO TAKE IT UP FOR A VOTE… F-C-C CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL PLEADED TO CONGRESS TO KEEP THIS SUBSIDY ALIVE – SAYING IN A LETTER…
ADELE: “This program is the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history. Today, more than 23 million households nationwide count on it to get online and stay online, including vulnerable seniors, veterans, school-aged children, and residents of rural and Tribal communities. Despite the breadth of this support and the urgent need to continue this program to ensure millions of households nationwide do not lose essential internet access, no additional funding has yet been appropriated.”
PRESIDENT BIDEN: “That savings in — matters in homes like the one I grew up in. Another 30, 40 bucks a month was the difference between how many groceries, you pay the gas bill, all other necessities. It matters. It matters.”
ADELE: TIME IS RUNNING OUT… WITHIN WEEKS – PEOPLE LIKE PAIGELYNNE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER TO SPEND MONEY TO PAY A BILL THEY SAY THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO STAY CONNECTED… OR LET THAT LITTLE BOX IN THE CORNER – THAT CONNECTS THEM TO THE WORLD – GO DARK. IN SYRACUSE, CHILEKASI ADELE – NCC NEWS.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – More than 40% of Syracuse residents could see their internet bills spike significantly next month.
Paigelynne Gonyea is a small part of that percentage. She’s an avid user of the social media app, TikTok. Her account has more than 103,000 followers – which would fill the JMA Wireless Dome more than twice.
“I got my following kind of out of dumb luck,” Gonyea said. “But when I saw that I had that following, I decided to try to do something with that instead of just letting it sit there.”
She uses her Verizon internet service to connect with those 103,000 followers on a regular basis. Her connection is free – because of the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, which provides discounted internet service for low-income subscribers who qualify for it.
“People now need internet for either job searching, for school, for their work,” she said. “And it needs to be accessible.”
The future of the program is in jeopardy. Federal funding is set to run out in May for the ACP – with the FCC already warning people of the program winding down. Gonyea said some of the people she knows who subscribe to the program have already lost their benefits as next month approaches.
Gonyea said that people who live in her apartment complex downtown are sharing access to Wi-Fi – living in close proximity to each other.
““People are trying to team together in the building to chip in $10 here and there for access to their Wi-Fi,” she said.
According to data from a letter FCC Congresswoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent to Congress on April 2nd, 1,892,187 households use the Affordable Connectivity Program in New York State. In New York’s 22nd Congressional District, in which Onondaga County and the cities of Syracuse, Utica, and Rome are located, 80,695 households use the ACP.
A Syracuse Common Council resolution passed earlier this year stated that 25,000 households in the City of Syracuse use the program. The funds from the program are also used to subsidize the city’s municipal broadband network, SurgeLink.
Vincent Scipione, Syracuse’s Smart City Manager, oversees the SurgeLink program as part of his job. He told NCC News that the City is trying to create a local benefit that would keep SurgeLink’s price at $10 a month – which is due to the funds coming from the ACP.
“If we at this point take away the Internet from over 40% of the Syracuse population that are relying on this benefit and, you know, the Internet now becomes too expensive for them to afford, then we’re taking away the opportunity for them to participate and being a contributing member of society,” Scipione said.
President Biden has called for Congress to send a bill to his desk that would continue the benefit. A bipartisan group of Congressmembers backed legislation in late-March that would keep the program going – but the House has no current plans to bring it up for a vote.
Biden has been touting the program’s impact, hitting states like North Carolina – where over 900,000 people use it.
“That savings in — matters in homes like the one I grew up in,” The President said in Raleigh, N.C. in January. “Another 30, 40 bucks a month was the difference between how many groceries, you pay the gas bill, all other necessities. It matters. It matters.”
