Using the American Rescue Plans (ARA) fund to further access to high-speed Wi-Fi internet, the Phoenix City Council, led by Mayor Kate Gallego passed a measure at the October 4, 2023 council meeting to assist 4,941 people residing in 27 local affordable housing communities in obtaining the vital service.
Please read pages 110-111 on the Phoenix Council agenda from last week’s meeting to see which affordable housing communities will receive expanded Wi-Fi access.
Late last year, the Mayor and City Council expanded Wi-Fi Internet to ten affordable housing communities.
The measure will use three million dollars of ARA funds.
Commenting on the measure, Mayor Gallego posted on social media:
In the video, the Mayor relayed how a mother had conveyed “what a difference it would make to do homework and job search among other important things…”
Mayor Gallego also took the opportunity to remind residents of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) “which provides discounts of up to $30 a month off the costs of the internet for qualifying households and households who qualify can get a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or other tablet. For providers, we want to make sure that people have a chance to be connected and in today’s world, access to the internet is not a nice to have. It is a necessity.”