When Will Affordable Connectivity Program Funding Run Out?

On June 24, 2022, The Hill published our Op-Ed urging policymakers to fully fund the Affordable Connectivity Program. That Op-Ed predicted that funding for the program is likely to run out by mid-2024 and called for action at the state and federal levels to extend that funding. We’ve had some follow up questions on how we came up with our projections. Here we explain our projections. While there are three scenarios we believe is most likely to occur, without any intervention, Affordable Connectivity program funds will likely be exhausted by the middle of 2024. In the near term, state broadband offices should examine the total pool of federal broadband funds and allocate a portion of that funding towards extending the program for income eligible households in their states. In the longer term, Congress should find a solution to permanently fund the Affordable Connectivity Program.