Affordability/Cost/Price

Broadband is one of the last remaining, truly bipartisan issues, according to Chip Pickering, the CEO of Incompas. Pickering said there might be a movement in Congress to restore and modernize broadband subsidies to help low-income earners afford services. “It is a national consensus and commitment of connecting every American,” said Pickering, who also served for 12 years in Congress representing Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district.

The Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission has entered into a Consent Decree to resolve its investigations into whether AT&T violated the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) rules. To settle these matters, AT&T agrees to a total settlement value of $2,299,990 to fully resolve the FCC’s investigations, which includes (i) a civil penalty of $1,921,068, and (ii) repayment to the United States Treasury in the amount of $378,922.

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, New Hampshire will receive $196.5 million and will be given the opportunity to finally close the digital divide for the entire state, finishing the task undertaken with previous state and federal programs. BEAD will bring unparalleled investment in broadband infrastructure over the next five years and has tasked the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) Office of Broadband with bringing affordable broadband to all New Hampshire residents.

The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) put the kibosh on the business plans of internet service providers (ISPs) working to tackle the urban digital divide. I’m aware of a several ISPs working to bring broadband to neighborhoods where the majority of customers qualified for the $30 ACP discount.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) says she will build an Opportunity Economy where everyone has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead. Renewing the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is part of that agenda. Earlier this year, Congress failed to allocate funding for ACP and made monthly broadband bills more expensive for 23 million households enrolled in the program.

Most households in the U.S. today would consider internet service to be a necessity—and like many household expenses, it's gotten more expensive lately, at least in some areas. At U.S. News & World Report, we’ve been surveying Americans about their Internet Service Provider (ISP) experiences throughout the year. This time, we aimed to get feedback specifically related to costs for consumers living in the most populous states. Here's what we found, starting with some overall takeaways based on responses from across all five states:

Building on the Defeating the Digital Divide series, Kids First Chicago presents new findings from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data, released in December 2023, and makes three key recommendations: 

In July 2024, the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) released its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II.

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his ticket's plans to improve the lives of rural voters, as Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) looks to cut into Donald Trump's (R-FL) support. The Harris-Walz plan calls on Congress to permanently extend telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that helped millions access care that is set to expire at the end of 2024.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP: