Emergency Broadband Benefit, Lifeline, and Affordable Connectivity Program: Some Guidance

Faced with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021, Congress aimed to help low-income Americans remain connected by providing up to a $50 monthly subsidy for Internet connections through the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. Now, as the Federal Communications Commission prepares rules for the EBB Program’s longer-term replacement—the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—it is worth studying the EBB Program in search of guidance for the ACP. Analysis by Dr. George Ford resulted in a number of policy implications. First, the EBB Program, despite its large subsidy, did not materially increase broadband adoption by disconnected households. In some respects, this result is expected. Second, these results suggest that the ease of enrollment, a familiarity with communications subsidy programs, and the efforts of Lifeline providers to inform households about subsidy programs, played key roles in EBB participation. Finally, given the reduction in the monthly subsidy (from $50 currently for the EBB to $30 for the ACP), the FCC should keep net prices low by avoiding aggressive minimum service requirements and providing broadband providers the flexibility to craft lower-priced offerings that target eligible households (such as Comcast’s Internet Essentials). According to the FCC’s recently released draft order, this is the approach the Commission intends to take.

[Dr. George Ford is Chief Economist at the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies.]