Digital Divide

Advocates Warn Broadband Gains at Risk Without Sustainable Consumer Subsidy

Panel links ACP lapse to rising disconnections and affordability strain.

Akul Saxena

Oct 31, 2025 — 2 min read

Photo of panel (from left): Revati Prasad, executive director, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society; Adeyinka Ogunlegan, vice president of government affairs and policy, National Urban League; John Heitmann, partner, Nelson Mullins; Kate Rivera, executive director, Technology Learning Collaborative; and John Horrigan, senior fellow, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 31, 2025 — Digital equity advocates warned Thursday that inconsistent federal financing threatened to erase broadband adoption gains, and urged Congress to replace the lapsed Affordable Connectivity Program with a stable, long-term consumer subsidy.

Moderated by Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the panel said high monthly costs remained the main reason families lose or forgo internet service.

Any replacement for the ACP must function as a permanent affordability support, not a short-term emergency program, argued Prasad of the Benton Institute, a nonprofit that researches broadband policy and digital equity.

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Digital Divide Affordable Connectivity Program Revati Prasad Adeyinka ogunlegan National Urban League Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Kate Rivera John Horrigan Technology Learning Collaborative John Heitmann Nelson Mullins