Committee urges ISPs and city agencies to expand affordable Internet access for seniors and people with disabilities

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on March 16 recommended to the full Board a resolution calling on major Internet service providers and city departments to expand affordable Internet access for seniors, people with disabilities and other low‑income San Franciscans.

Supervisor Dean Preston, sponsor of the resolution, said San Francisco faces large gaps in home broadband: "1 in 8 residents of our city are without high speed, home internet service," and the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains underused locally — only about a quarter of an estimated 126,000 eligible households are enrolled, he said. The resolution asks ISPs to increase outreach, reduce barriers, target investments in underserved neighborhoods and work with the city on digital equity efforts.

Senior and Disability Action (SDA) presenters described barriers to access including low ACP enrollment, digital redlining, and language and cultural barriers to sign‑up and use. SDA organizers asked ISPs to expand eligibility or subsidize plans for people who are above federal ACP thresholds but still low‑income under San Francisco’s Area Median Income. SDA also offered a cost estimate range and urged coordinated investment by ISPs and the city.

Representatives from AT&T, Verizon and Comcast described corporate programs and commitments. AT&T said it has made a $2 billion commitment to address the digital divide and detailed outreach and a local connected learning center; Verizon pointed to its Verizon Forward program that provides free home Internet to ACP‑qualified customers and community outreach; Comcast highlighted its Internet Essentials program (pricing tiers at $9.95 or $29.95, equipment and digital literacy supports) and neighborhood hub installations. Verizon and Comcast said the $30 ACP subsidy can make qualifying plans effectively free; Comcast and AT&T described bilingual enrollment support and local sign‑up events with community partners.

City agencies described local work: the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development’s fiber‑to‑housing program has delivered service to more than 9,000 housing units across about 75 affordable housing sites, and the Department of Technology said it aims to reach another roughly 5,000 units in the next months as part of a network expansion; MOHCD said it has requested $5,000,000 in the capital budget for the program across two fiscal years.

Supervisors pressed ISPs on whether they would expand discounts beyond federal ACP rules to reach San Franciscans who fail to meet federal thresholds but are low‑income locally. Providers generally emphasized increasing ACP outreach and partnering with community organizations; AT&T said it follows federal guidelines but will take ideas back to leadership, Comcast emphasized outreach and sign‑up parties with community partners, and Verizon said it was open to continued discussions but offered no immediate local eligibility change.

More than two dozen callers and in‑chamber speakers gave public comment, largely urging the Board to secure free or deeply discounted high‑quality, accessible Internet for seniors, people with disabilities and other vulnerable residents and to address digital redlining. Community groups and nonprofit partners urged language access, device distribution and digital literacy as integral to access.

Chair Preston moved to forward the resolution with a positive recommendation; the committee voted 3–0 (Vice Chair Supervisor Catherine Stephanie — aye; Supervisor Connie Chan — aye; Chair Preston — aye) to send the resolution to the full Board for consideration.