The ABCs of Affordability in Alabama

A key challenge to achieving universal broadband adoption in Alabama is that low-income households struggle to afford broadband services and devices with adequate technical support. Among Alabama residents who do not have internet service at home, 42.6 percent report that a primary reason they do not pay for broadband at home is an inability to afford service. Additionally, low-income individuals are 15.7 percentage points less likely than higher-income individuals to have a home internet subscription and they are 21.6 percentage points less likely to have a wireline internet subscription—further highlighting the connection between affordability and internet adoption. One option for ensuring additional low-cost service offerings in Alabama is through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs' (ADECA) implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, an effort created and funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. While awarding BEAD grants for broadband deployment, ADECA must ensure that awardees will offer a low-cost broadband service option. In ADECA's approved implementation plan, the department outlines what those low-cost options will look like.