It's official. Broadband discounts are permanent. Eligible households get $30 off their internet

Got this letter in my email today. Screenshot 2021-12-17 231606.png I signed up for EBB when it was offered during the pandemic (I'm eligible for Lifeline cell service as well but I really just wanted help with my $110 Comcast bill). Gave me $50 off my Comcast bill every month. It was originally scheduled to end either when the program ran out of money or 6 months after the end of the pandemic so it kind of sucks that they're changing the program before the pandemic is declared over but at least it's permanent. A lot of people had complaints that providers were forcing them into specific packages to get the EBB benefit (and in Verizon's case they weren't letting those with DSL get it at all) so one key change is that now providers cannot specify what plans ACP can be used on, they must allow people to use it on any plan they choose. Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program? A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below: Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline; Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations; Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year; Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income program. https://fcc.gov/ACP I also just noticed that they changed the guidelines for income to 200% of the FPL instead of 135% of the FPL. That means households with at least one member under $25,760 in income are eligible for the benefit in 2022. I wonder how long it's going to take ISPs to decide to raise their prices to eliminate this discount though...