Adoption

Digital inclusion is considered a super social determinant of health and rests on four pillars: available and affordable broadband service, quality devices, digital skills and training, and technical support for using accessible applications. Evidence suggests two pathways through which digital inclusion and health equity are connected. The direct pathway is through increasing access to health care services.

Digital Inclusion Coalitions have long been critical to creating robust and sustainable digital equity ecosystems. They collaborate to pool together resources and capacity to make things happen that one individual or organization alone could not do. Coalitions exemplify the spirit of our digital inclusion community because they represent the unique values and perspectives of the residents of their hometowns, regions, and states. But the efforts and outputs of Digital Inclusion Coalitions may not be known outside of their direct impact locally, let alone outside of the digital equity space.

Los Angeles County has started work on a wireless broadband network that will deliver high-speed connections for as little as $25 a month. The county signed a contract with WeLink of Lehi, Utah, to build the network and offer the service in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles.

More than 1 in 5 households with an internet subscription in the US utilize the Affordable Connectivity Program, and it’s almost unanimously supported by voters: Polling from Public Opinion Strategies and RG Strategies shows that 78% of voters want to extend the ACP, including 64% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 95% of Democrats. A 

In celebration of Military Appreciation Month, Comcast NBCUniversal unveiled several initiatives to bolster support for veterans, service members, and military families. New and existing military-connected customers can enjoy our Xfinity Military Benefits. Comcast NBCUniversal continues its commitment to advancing digital equity for veterans, service members, and their families.

Speaker Johnson, it is time to call a vote. In less than four weeks, over 23 million U.S.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is about to run out—and Congress is watching it happen. When the ACP was created in 2021 as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the $14.2 billion Congress allocated was expected to last five years. But demand for the benefit was so high that in January the Federal Communications Commission announced the program would be winding down at the end of April, after just three years.

Without congressional action, funding for the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will expire at the end of May 2024. With this in mind, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband convened a May 2 hearing on 'The Future of Broadband Affordability' to discuss congressional funding of U.S.

Some 23 million households receive broadband subsidies through the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is more than the number on food stamps. Households qualify if they earn 200% or less than the poverty line or participate in other welfare programs such as Medicaid. This includes relatively affluent households with public-school students in localities like New York City that provide universal free school meals. Broadband providers have said in recent earnings calls that they don’t expect to lose many subscribers once the program ends.

The likely expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program, the largest ever connectivity support program for low-income households, invites a discussion about the impact of the program and what alternative policy tools are available to promote digital equity. This study offers a preliminary assessment of the ACP’s goal to promote fixed broadband among lowincome households.