Lost Your ACP Discount? Here's How Texans Get Cheap Internet in 2026

If your internet bill jumped by about $30 sometime in 2024, this is why. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) — the federal benefit that knocked up to $30 off home internet (up to $75 on Tribal lands) for more than 23 million households — stopped paying out on June 1, 2024. It wasn't canceled for cause; Congress simply never refilled the $14.2 billion that funded it, so the FCC wound the program down. Enrollment froze in February 2024, the last partial discounts went out in May, and June bills landed at full price. As of mid-2026, the ACP has not been restored, and no identical federal replacement exists. Texas felt this hard: the state had one of the largest enrolled populations in the country, with well over a million households leaning on the credit. The good news is that the ACP was never the only lifeline. Several large internet providers run their own low-income plans, the FCC's older Lifeline program is still active, and Texas is rolling out broadband expansion money. The catch is that you now have to assemble these pieces yourself instead of getting one tidy $30 credit. This guide maps out exactly what's left.

Spectrum (Charter) is the dominant cable provider across much of Texas — Austin, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley, and dozens of suburbs — so Spectrum Internet Assist is the first plan to check. It delivers 50 Mbps download for $25 a month, with no contract, no data cap, and a free internet modem. There's an optional Advanced WiFi add-on for a few dollars more if you want the router managed. Eligibility is program-based rather than income-based: your household qualifies if a member participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) — including reduced-price lunch or the Community Eligibility Provision — or if a member age 65 or older receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI). That's a narrower door than some rivals (it leans on school-age kids or qualifying seniors), so read the criteria before assuming you're in. Existing Spectrum customers can switch onto Assist; you don't have to be brand new. To apply, search 'Spectrum Internet Assist' on Spectrum.com, fill out the eligibility form, and upload proof such as a benefit award letter. Because the program details and pricing can shift, verify the current rate with Spectrum directly before you sign up.

AT&T blankets large parts of Texas with both fiber and older DSL, and its low-income plan — Access from AT&T — is one of the more flexible options. Depending on your address, Access provides either a fiber connection up to 100 Mbps or a slower DSL line, with prices that run from $0 up to $30 a month plus taxes. Installation and the gateway/modem are included at no extra charge. Here's the nuance that trips people up: when the ACP existed, many Access customers paid effectively nothing because the $30 credit covered the plan. With ACP gone, you now pay AT&T's own Access price out of pocket — but you can stack the federal Lifeline discount (covered below) on top to shave roughly $9.25 off. Eligibility covers households where a member is in SNAP or the National School Lunch Program, or whose income sits at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (California SSI recipients also qualify). Apply at att.com/access, check availability for your exact address, and submit proof of program participation or income. Speeds and pricing vary block to block, so confirm what's offered at your home.

If you're in a Comcast/Xfinity footprint — large stretches of Houston and the surrounding metro — Internet Essentials is often the cheapest brand-name plan on this list. It runs $14.95 a month for speeds up to 75/10 Mbps, with no contract, no activation fee, no credit check, and a free wireless gateway included. Households that want more headroom can step up to Internet Essentials Plus at $29.95 a month for up to 100/20 Mbps. A standout perk: eligible customers can buy a refurbished laptop or desktop for a one-time $149.99, which matters a lot if losing the ACP also meant losing a device discount. Eligibility is broad — you qualify if you participate in essentially any federal assistance program (SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, public/housing assistance, NSLP, and more) or if your household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. That income threshold makes Internet Essentials reachable for many Texans who didn't fit the narrower school-lunch-only programs. Apply at xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/internet-essentials or call 1-855-846-8376. As always, confirm the current price for your address before committing.

Cox Communications serves a number of Texas markets and runs two distinct low-income tiers, which confuses a lot of shoppers. Connect2Compete is the cheaper, narrower plan: $9.95 a month for households with at least one K–12 student who participates in a program like the National School Lunch Program or SNAP. ConnectAssist is the broader plan at $30 a month, open to adults who participate in qualifying assistance programs — Medicaid, a Pell Grant, public housing, SNAP, SSI, Tribal programs, a Veterans Pension, or WIC — even if there are no kids in the home. Both come with a free WiFi modem, no annual contract, no deposit, and no credit check, and both deliver speeds in the 100 Mbps range. The practical rule of thumb: if you have a school-age child, start with Connect2Compete because it's a third of the price; if you don't, ConnectAssist is your path. Layering the Lifeline credit on top can lower the ConnectAssist bill further. Apply through cox.com (search 'Connect2Compete' or 'ConnectAssist') and have your benefit documentation ready. Verify current pricing and availability with Cox, since terms differ by region.

Lifeline is the older, smaller federal program that the ACP was originally meant to supplement — and unlike the ACP, it never went away. It provides up to $9.25 a month off phone or internet service (up to $34.25 on Tribal lands) for eligible low-income households, administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). It's modest, but it's the closest thing to a true federal replacement for the ACP, and crucially you can often apply it to a low-income broadband plan to push the price down even further. You qualify if your household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if you participate in SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance, a Veterans Pension/Survivors benefit, or certain Tribal programs. Only one Lifeline benefit is allowed per household, and you must recertify each year. To apply, use the National Verifier at LifelineSupport.org, then bring your approval to a participating provider — or apply directly through a provider that offers Lifeline. For a mailed form or help, call 1-800-234-9473. Confirm which Texas providers accept Lifeline on home internet, because not every plan does.

Beyond provider plans, two slower-moving levers are worth knowing about. First, the Texas Broadband Development Office submitted its final BEAD proposal in October 2025 to deploy roughly $1.3 billion in federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funds, connecting nearly 243,000 unserved and underserved Texas locations via fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite. BEAD is about building infrastructure, not handing out monthly discounts, but as those networks light up through 2026–2027 they're expected to come with affordability commitments for low-income households — so if you're in a rural or underserved pocket, check connectednation Texas resources and the Comptroller's broadband updates. Second, nonprofits fill real gaps today. Human-I-T and PCs for People offer low-cost refurbished computers and, in some areas, discounted connectivity; local libraries and many Texas school districts still lend WiFi hotspots; and 2-1-1 Texas (dial 211) can route you to local assistance funds that occasionally cover an internet bill in a crunch. None of these is a clean $30-a-month coupon, but stacked with a provider's low-income plan they can close most of the gap the ACP left behind.

Here's the order of operations that saves the most money. Step 1: Find out which providers actually reach your address — type your address into each provider's checker, since Texas coverage is a patchwork and the cheapest plan only helps if it's available. Step 2: Match your situation to eligibility — if you have a K–12 child in free/reduced lunch, lead with Cox Connect2Compete ($9.95) or Spectrum Internet Assist; if you're on SNAP/Medicaid/SSI without kids, Xfinity Internet Essentials ($14.95) or Cox ConnectAssist usually win on price and openness. Step 3: Apply for Lifeline through the National Verifier so you can stack the $9.25 credit wherever the provider allows it. Step 4: Gather one proof document — a benefit award letter (SNAP, Medicaid, SSI) or a recent tax return for income-based qualification — because every program asks for the same handful of papers. Step 5: Apply directly on the provider's site and ask, in writing, whether any promo or Lifeline discount applies. If none of these reach you or you're slightly over the income line, compare standard budget options in our roundup of cheap internet in Texas under $50, see renter-friendly picks in our best internet for renters in Texas guide, and use our guide to negotiating your internet bill to push the price down further. Always re-confirm prices with the provider — low-income plan terms change.