The Vital Mission of Ensuring Affordable Connectivity Everywhere

With over 23 million households relying on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to financially support their connection to…well, everything…it is jarring to think the program may soon no longer exist. Losing this broadband subsidy program will force families to make hard choices and will likely lead to many losing connectivity altogether.  With the value of a network based upon its ability to connect everyone, this is not a good result for our country. Worse yet, a lack of ACP funding may jeopardize the future connectivity of those who have not yet had the opportunity to come online. ACP is a central feature of the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, designed to provide a low-income option for those in unserved areas when broadband arrives and incentivize as many people as possible to connect. If it disappears, it means more than just missing out on the opportunity to connect everyone—not bringing as many people as possible online could destabilize the network deployment itself.