A forthcoming report from the Benton Institute on Broadband & Society examines the impact of the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on low-income Americans and the affordability of home broadband service. The main findings from the survey are:

• Households planning to end or cut back on service: Half of surveyed households that had enrolled in ACP said they would either terminate service or downgrade to a slower or cheaper option upon the program’s end. Some 13% of ACP households said that losing the $30 per month service subsidy would cause them to cancel service and 36% said that, without ACP, they would seek a cheaper plan.
• Lost financial benefits: Losing broadband service would inhibit online usage, as low-income respondents said not having at-home broadband would significantly impact their online shopping and curtail using the internet for telehealth appointments. The report’s analysis values these lost opportunities at over $2 billion annually.
• The gap between what people pay and what they feel comfortable paying:  The survey asked people what they pay per month for standalone home broadband service. The average figure cited was $66.53 per month. Yet when asked what they consider to be too expensive a price to pay for service, 56% cited monthly bills of $75 or less. This means many households who pay for service find it a strain on their household budgets. More than half (53%) say that it is difficult for them to pay their monthly broadband service fee.
• Persistence of subscription vulnerability: Some 43% of all low-income households are subscription vulnerable, meaning they live at or near the poverty line, have had service disconnected due to difficulties paying their monthly internet bills, or express significant concerns about service affordability. This comes to approximately 19 million households in the United States that are subscription vulnerable. For them, maintaining internet service is a financial balancing act. The ACP helped address this challenge for low-income households.

The April 2024 survey, conducted as ACP was set to expire, consisted of a nationally representative survey of over 2,500 households with annual incomes of $50,000 or less. In addition to a focus on ACP and service affordability, the survey also explored how ACP impacted vulnerable “covered populations” (as identified in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). In particular:

• People with disabilities: Some 36% of the people with disabilities we surveyed enrolled in ACP (compared with 22% of all others) and 24% used the program for a new wireline subscription at home (compared to 17% of other ACP enrollees). Some 15% say the end of ACP could mean they cancel service.
• Households near the poverty line: Among the households we surveyed whose annual incomes are under $20,000, 33% enrolled in ACP and 27% used it for a new wireline service. Nearly one in five (18%) said they would cancel service without ACP.
• African American households: 31% of African Americans we surveyed enrolled in ACP, above the sample’s overall 26% figure.
• Hispanic households: Some 17% of Hispanics we surveyed said they would cancel home service without ACP and 45% would downgrade service—above the 13% and 36% numbers, respectively, for the entire sample.
• Rural households: They were as likely as all other households to enroll in ACP (27% versus 26% for the entire sample), but they pay more for service. Rural households pay on average $72 per month for broadband compared with $62 for non-rural households.

Many low-income households will face unattractive budgetary choices in light of ACP’s demise. Some may forgo service, while others will cut elsewhere to maintain their home connection. But the end of ACP’s $30 per month service subsidy will have more persistent impacts: it will cost the U.S. economy billions in lost consumer benefits and savings in health care delivery.

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.

See These ACP Resources

• The Affordable Connectivity Program Creates Benefits that Far Outweigh the Program's Costs
• Ten Things About ACP that Ted Cruz Cares About—And Ten Answers that Could Help Reshape How We Think About the Program
• Where the Puck is Going: The Close of the ACP and Coming USF Reform
• The Future of Affordable Broadband: Life after the Affordable Connectivity Program
• What Are ISPs Offering Consumers after ACP?
• Updated ACP Enrollment Performance Tool Includes ACP Risk Score
• RIP ACP: December 31, 2021—May 30, 2024
• How the FCC Plans to End the Affordable Connectivity Program
• 23,269,550 ACP Households
• Who is About to Lose their ACP Discount?
• The Economic, Political, Historic and Even Theological Case for ACP
• Ending the ACP will Limit the Internet’s Economic and Healthcare Benefits for Low-Income Households

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.

© Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2024. Redistribution of this email publication - both internally and externally - is encouraged if it includes this copyright statement.

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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities