AARP Hearing Center
Internet Costs Burden Many Households on Tight Budgets
AARP urges states to address broadband affordability and digital skills training for users 50-plus
AARP (Getty Images 2)
Key takeaways
- The government is helping states build infrastructure to connect underserved areas.
- Reliable high-speed internet helps people 50-plus manage health care, pay bills, access services and stay connected with family.
- As federal internet discounts have ended, AARP is advocating for states to fund digital skills training, as well as subsidies to help low-income adults stay connected.
Older Americans — many on fixed incomes — rely on the internet to schedule doctor’s appointments, apply for jobs, pay bills, learn new digital skills and access government services.
But several federal programs that made the internet affordable for low-income households have expired or been scrapped. The result is that many people 50-plus struggle to afford internet access, with sometimes devastating effects.
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Almost two-thirds of adults 50-plus say their internet bill creates some financial strain, and almost three-quarters say they’re worried costs will go up even more, according to an AARP survey published in August.
Tammy Madrid works as a services coordinator for the Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has watched older adults in her community lose the ability to call family, check bank statements and send messages to their doctors.
A federal program that helped them pay for internet access, the Affordable Connectivity Program, lapsed in 2024. Forty-two residents had home internet service through the ACP in Madrid’s development. Fewer than half have managed to keep internet in their apartments, she says.
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“You can see the frustration and sadness in their faces, especially for the ones that can’t Zoom [call] with their grandkids in another state or another country,” Madrid says. “It is heartbreaking.”
That’s why AARP is fighting nationwide to secure funding and policies that will help low-income households access the internet and help older adults feel confident using it.
Federal supports have dried up
While the expiration of the federal programs created a gap for many older adults, states have some options to help. With new broadband infrastructure dollars and the potential of additional federal resources, states have tools to address affordability and digital skills. AARP is working to ensure these resources are translated into practical support for older adults, making internet access affordable and usable.
One of the remaining federal initiatives available to connect low-income communities is Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD). Though it was reshaped by the Trump administration last year, states and advocates like AARP are working to maximize its impact.
Over the past year, AARP state offices have met with state broadband offices, hosted tele‑town halls to brief our members, mobilized volunteers to share personal stories and urged policymakers to prioritize digital resources for aging communities, particularly in rural areas.
At least a dozen state high-speed internet programs under BEAD have incorporated AARP suggestions to ensure that 50-plus users are included. AARP has also called for legislation that addresses internet costs.
One example is New Mexico, whose governor signed a bill supported by AARP to provide $55 million to help low-income households afford internet service. The new law took effect in July and fills the gaps left by the now-defunct ACP.
“For a rural state like New Mexico, it’s especially important for older New Mexicans to be able to take advantage of telehealth services, and [it] helps them stay connected and reduces social isolation,” said Othiamba Umi, AARP New Mexico associate state director for advocacy and outreach, in a statement.
Now, as BEAD plans are implemented over the next four years, AARP is watching to ensure older adults will benefit.
“For decades, AARP has worked to advance digital access, affordability and adoption, because connectivity is foundational to health and economic security, as well as safety and independence,” wrote Coralette Hannon, director of livable communities for AARP, in a February statement submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees BEAD.
Internet gaps leave older adults behind
People view reliable internet as a basic necessity, on par with housing or electricity, but more than 30 percent of those 65 and older lack high-speed home service, according to AARP’s Older Adults Technology Services’ latest report.
“We’ve talked about the digital divide for decades, and there are groups — older adults squarely being one of those — that have been traditionally left behind,” says Tim Morstad, a government affairs director at AARP specializing in livable communities.
The ACP, which provided monthly discounts on internet service for low-income households, ran out of money in 2024 and was not renewed by Congress. More than 23 million households, including nearly 2 in 5 headed by someone 50 or older, relied on the ACP discounts.
Other programs that helped connect older adults to the internet dried up too. Last year, the Trump administration ended the Digital Equity Act, which funded state programs for computer skills training and initiatives that loaned laptops and tablets to those in need.
BEAD is now the last of these federal broadband programs in operation, and it is moving forward. In 2021, Congress approved $42 billion for the program, and states began a multiyear process to submit proposals outlining how they planned to spend their share to connect underserved communities.
In June, the NTIA established new rules that narrowed which local organizations qualify for the funds. Because of these rules, some locations — such as senior centers, job training centers and adult day facilities — no longer qualify.
As a result, some sites that would have been ideal candidates for supporting older adults’ digital inclusion lost eligibility, says Caroline Stratton, research director at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
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Libraries, senior centers and other aging-focused institutions “often serve as essential digital lifelines for older adults, offering access to Wi-Fi, computers, digital literacy programs and public assistance with online services,” according to a letter AARP offices sent to state broadband offices last fall.
As soon as states began developing their plans to apply for BEAD funding, AARP urged them to include spaces serving older adults.
Thanks to this advocacy work, some states — Nebraska, Texas, South Dakota, Illinois and others — were able to include such centers in their new plans.
As of Aug. 25, all state plans had been approved by the NTIA. That’s an important milestone, says Morstad, but not the finish line. While BEAD plans lay the groundwork for installing and upgrading the actual structures, they don’t fully address the lack of services that help low-income users pay for individual plans and learn how to navigate technology.
“AARP worked to ensure that older adults, and the trusted community institutions that help them get online, remained visible in state plans,” he says. “Now our focus shifts to timely deployment and to ensuring that any remaining funds address barriers such as affordability and digital skills.”
Future pathways for digital support
Hope remains for states aiming to overcome persistent connectivity gaps not fully addressed by their BEAD plans.
The grant-based Digital Equity Act program could be reinstated if a pending lawsuit moves forward. States have also been working to set up their own affordability programs or free up existing dollars to provide discounts to low-income households.
With this year’s state and federal elections, the public consensus on the need for internet access creates an opportunity to deliver on affordability more broadly for older adults.
Research from AARP found support for public action is widespread, even across political parties. Eighty-four percent of adults 50 and older support government programs that help make home internet more affordable for households with lower or fixed incomes, including 94 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of independents.
Another possibility is that states could be allowed to use any leftover BEAD funds to subsidize costs for or support digital skills training. AARP has been a strong proponent of letting states keep unused BEAD funds to advance other digital initiatives, especially since virtually all states identify digital skills gaps among older adults as a persistent obstacle in their broadband plans.
“If Americans — especially older adults — lack the skills and confidence to use the internet safely and effectively, the nation will not realize the full return on this historic infrastructure investment,” AARP’s Hannon wrote.
The NTIA has yet to issue final guidance on whether state broadband offices will be permitted to keep these funds and, if so, how they may be used.
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