Updated ACP Enrollment Performance Tool Includes ACP Risk Score

Today we are releasing our latest version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Enrollment Performance Tool, which updates data through February 2024. We introduce a new feature in this version—the ACP Risk Score for each zip code included in the tool. This score indicates the degree to which households in a given zip code are at risk of losing or reducing internet connectivity should the ACP benefit lapse. A high score (on a scale of 0 to 100) is a sign that households in that zip code may be more likely to lose internet connectivity than households in areas with a lower score. If a zip code area has a risk score above 70, it stands a good chance of having its households face significant disruption from ACP's demise. Losing connectivity could mean giving up home internet service completely or choosing between having a wireline or wireless subscription plan. As states and localities plan for Digital Equity Act funds and continue to focus on Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) investments, the disruption in home broadband subscription brought about by ACP’s end will be important to understand. The ACP Risk Score aims to provide a means to examine which areas are likely to be hardest hit.

[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.]