By the Numbers: Understanding and Driving Enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program

See a recap of this event at www.benton.org/blog/understanding-and-driving-enrollment-affordable-connectivity-program or watch a recording at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EehOdXl-o8&t=21s

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society invites you to join us for an online panel discussion on January 18, 2023 at 1:00pm ET/10:00am PT to learn about how the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is helping connect low-income Americans to the internet, and how and where the program could be leveraged better.

Launched in January 2022 with $14.2 billion in funding, the ACP is a critical component of the ongoing federal investment in broadband adoption. Eligible households receive $30/month (and up to $75/month on Tribal lands) to defray the cost of internet service, as well as up to $100 towards the purchase of a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers. Nationally, roughly 30% of eligible households are currently enrolled in the program. While impressive for a new program, there is still clearly much work to be done. To that end, the FCC will begin funding initiatives across the country to boost ACP awareness and enrollment. Some organizations have already begun such work, and this webinar will highlight the strategies they have found most effective. The webinar will also address the sustainability of the ACP, which is on track to run out of funds by mid-2024. The panel will explore what this timeline means for the ACP and its participants, and what can be done to support continued funding for the program.

The panel, moderated by Drew Garner, State Broadband Policy Advisor at Common Sense Media, will take a closer look at some of these outreach strategies and their impact on ACP enrollment. Drew will be joined by Benton Senior Fellow John Horrigan, who has done extensive research on the ACP enrollment trends, identifying which cities and regions have had greater success and pinpointing why. Dr. Andra Daunhauer, Executive Director at Equal Access to Broadband in Vermont, and Elizabeth Ramirez, Community Digital Navigator of ConnectWaukegan in Illinois will delve deeper into the challenges of getting eligible households enrolled and how their respective projects work creatively and persistently to address these challenges.

Event will be streamed on Youtube and Twitter.