I’m going to go out on a limb and say we should get rid of the ACP and maybe address the root of the problem. We have no competition to constrain internet prices. Most people live under a monopoly or duopoly ISP system while service providers enjoy little oversight. Under the current system, the price is whatever they think is the most you can pay. When consumers can’t pay, now they go to the government to extract even more money.

As it exists now, the subsidy is but another spoon these monopolies use to enrich themselves. If you want lower prices, you have to break them up or strictly regulate the services as utilities like they actually are. There are no other solutions.

This is but one of many ways the consumer is bent over the barrel in the current economic system.

The program should have never been a subsidy, it should have challenged and broken up broadband monopolies to bring down prices. A subsidy does nothing other than protect and strengthen monopolies while driving up prices.

Access to just about every necessity is being withdrawn and withheld from the poor - be it food, housing, healthcare, or internet and phone service. Imo the government should be offering all of these at a basic rate (e.g. government run brand) to set a bare minimum for quality, quantity and price to allow everyone to live comfortably. If you wanted to pay more for privately run versions it should still be possible, but this would both guarantee that companies don’t just raise their prices to compensate in the face of universal basic income or rental assistance type programs

This type of infrastructure should have always remained in government hands, and I don’t understand how the government continues to bow down to the companies and let them own the telephone poles