Broadband Affordability: What Should Change?

The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP:

1. The program’s income-based eligibility criteria are overly broad and allow subsidies to flow to families who do not need them.
2. The program’s eligibility criteria related to a household’s participation in subsidized school meals are overly broad and allow subsidies to flow to families who do not need them.
3. Certain methods for validating households’ eligibility for the ACP are not reliable.
4. The program’s funding for internet-connected devices has paid for devices that households did not need.