For three years, the Affordable Connectivity Program knocked $30 a month off internet bills for roughly 23 million American households. Then Congress let the money run out, and the program ended on June 1, 2024. Two years later, plenty of households that leaned on that discount are still paying full price without realizing cheaper options survived it.

None of what’s left is as generous as the ACP was. But between the FCC’s older Lifeline program, state affordability laws, and the low-income plans providers kept running, a household on a tight budget can often still get connected for well under the typical bill. Here’s what actually remains, and how to get it.

Lifeline: the discount that never went away

Lifeline predates the ACP by decades and is still running. It provides up to $9.25 a month off broadband or bundled phone-and-internet service, or up to $5.25 for voice-only phone service. Subscribers on Tribal lands can receive up to an additional $25, bringing the total to as much as $34.25 a month.

A $9.25 discount won’t make a $70 plan cheap. Where Lifeline shines is when it’s stacked on an already-inexpensive plan, and several wireless resellers apply the subsidy to plans priced so low that the service costs the subscriber little or nothing out of pocket.

Who qualifies for Lifeline

You’re eligible if your household income is at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or if you or someone in your household participates in certain federal programs: SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Pension or Survivors Benefits, or certain Tribal assistance programs, per the FCC’s program rules.

The hard limit to remember: one Lifeline benefit per household, not per person, and it can go to either wireline or wireless service, not both. To apply, use the National Verifier at lifelinesupport.org or call the Lifeline Support Center at 800-234-9473. Once you’re approved, you pick a participating provider and the discount is applied to your bill.

Have your paperwork ready before you start. The verifier checks eligibility against government databases first, but when it can’t confirm you automatically, you’ll be asked to upload proof: a benefit award letter from SNAP or Medicaid, for example, or income documentation such as a tax return or three consecutive pay stubs. Expect to reconfirm your eligibility every year; the program requires annual recertification, and people who ignore the recertification notice lose the discount even though they still qualify. And apply through the official site or your provider directly. Sign-up tables that appear in parking lots offering “free government phones” are sometimes legitimate resellers, but handing your Social Security number to a stranger at a folding table is a bad habit; the official channel asks for the same information with far less risk.

State laws are filling some of the gap

New York went further than the federal government. Under the state’s Affordable Broadband Act, which took effect in January 2025, large internet providers operating in New York must offer qualifying low-income households a plan of at least 25 megabits per second for no more than $15 a month, or a 200 Mbps plan for no more than $20, taxes and equipment fees included. Eligibility runs through programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and free or reduced-price school lunch.

If you live elsewhere, check your state’s public service commission or broadband office. State-level affordability programs and one-off subsidy funds come and go, and your provider is not obligated to volunteer that you qualify for a cheaper plan.

The providers’ own low-income plans

Several large cable and phone companies kept the low-income plans they built during the ACP era, typically in the range of $10 to $30 a month for basic broadband, with eligibility tied to the same programs Lifeline uses. Names and terms change often enough that we won’t list prices here; search your provider’s site for “low income,” “assist,” or “essentials,” and ask directly whether a cheaper qualifying plan exists at your address. When you call, ask two specific questions: whether the price includes equipment rental, and whether it’s a promotional rate that expires.

Don’t pay for speed you don’t use

The cheapest fix has nothing to do with subsidies. A single person who streams video on one screen and reads the news does not need the 500 Mbps tier. Downgrading a plan, returning a rented router in favor of a purchased one, and asking the retention department for the current new-customer price are all boring, reliable ways to cut $10 to $40 a month. Providers rarely move an existing customer to a cheaper tier unprompted.

And if you only need occasional access, remember that nearly every public library in the country offers free Wi-Fi and computer time, and many lend mobile hotspots for weeks at a stretch.

The bottom line

The ACP’s $30-a-month benefit is gone, and nothing has replaced it nationally. What remains is a patchwork: Lifeline’s smaller but real discount, state requirements like New York’s $15 plans, provider low-income tiers, and plain old plan-shopping. A household that stacks a Lifeline-eligible cheap plan with a right-sized speed tier can usually land within a few dollars of what the ACP used to deliver. It just takes one application and one phone call that nobody will make for you.

This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.