A new survey from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society focusing on low-income Americans shows that affordability challenges are pervasive for low-income households, a problem the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) helped alleviate for those most in need. The survey finds that:

1. Many are paying monthly service fees that put a strain on their household budgets, as more than 53% said that they found it either very (11%) or somewhat (42%) hard to afford their monthly internet service fee.
2. Subscription vulnerability—meaning households that live at or near the poverty level, have suffered service disconnections, or struggle to pay for their broadband bill—is a reality for 43% of low-income households. For them, a home internet connection can be a “sometimes thing” and another stressor on a tight household budget.

The ACP helped ease these pressures. Reliance on ACP was greatest among those for whom affordability worries remain most acute. Some 36% of households in areas with high housing costs and problems dealing with an unexpected expense enrolled in ACP. This compares with 22% of all other respondents. Fifty-eight percent of households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are highly likely to be subscription vulnerable—38% of all SNAP households enrolled in ACP.

The ACP also helped get more households online, as the new survey finds that 20% of households that used ACP for a wireline service said it was for a new wireline broadband connection. The ACP supported historic increases in low-income broadband adoption rates in recent years.

Yet ACP continues to face criticisms that fall into two categories. One is that broadband subsidies are not necessary for low-income households to boost adoption. Closely related is the idea that those who use the subsidy do not really need it if they had service before enrolling. In other words, ACP did not do enough to get the disconnected online. These criticisms rest on the premise that low-income households fit into a box that has a single partition. The policy challenge is to move people across the partition—to the side of connectivity. Once that is done—problem solved!

But this research shows a very different reality for low-income households. Just because households get on the “right side” of the partition doesn’t mean their connectivity challenges end. For subscription vulnerable households, connectivity can be fluid and a source of household budgetary strain. An unexpected expense or income loss may involve tough choices for household spending. Something may have to give and that might be broadband service. A program such as the ACP can be the difference between keeping service or losing it.

All this matters. As my new research also shows, disconnection is costly. The service cutbacks that ACP’s demise may cause could mean over $2 billion in lost consumer financial benefits and service delivery efficiencies for health care providers. In conjunction with the finding that ACP helped populations with the greatest affordability challenges, the survey shows that there is a role for a broadband subsidy to help people get and, importantly, stay online.

John B. Horrigan is a Benton Senior Fellow and a national expert on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of programs designed to promote communications technology adoption and use.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities