In a recent report Education Superhighway recommends broadband subsidies for homes that need it…

To ensure every household has reliable, affordable internet, Congress should create a new permanent broadband affordability program targeted toward those who truly need it. The benefit should only apply to entry-level home
broadband plans, and it can be revenue-neutral, fully funded by repurposing USF High Cost Program funds as they expire. The new program would provide greater
stability to under-resourced households and ensure that states that included the ACP as a tool for addressing broadband affordability in their BEAD and Digital
Equity Act plans have a viable alternative. The benefit should be:

1. Focused on 16.3 million unconnected households and 3 million likely to be disconnected, ensuring the benefit is a tool that provides a high-speed connection or prevents disconnection when financial circumstances change.
Changing eligibility criteria to focus on unconnected households provides annual savings of $4.6 billion compared with ACP.
2. Paid for by repurposing Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost Program funds as they expire. This revenue-neutral approach covers 100% of the cost of the broadband affordability benefit, starting immediately, without taxpayer burden.
3. Applicable only to entry-level home broadband plans, providing households with the high-speed connection needed to get an entire family online for remote work, education, and telehealth services. The Lifeline program should remain the primary program for supporting mobile service and connections outside the home.
4. Limited to broadband plans at or below the $30 subsidy price (or $75 on qualifying Tribal lands or in high cost rural areas) to harness market forces by acknowledging that households already subscribed to advanced broadband
plans are financially capable of maintaining a connection without support and unlikely to trade down from their chosen plan.