Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

I applaud private efforts to address low-income adoption, particularly Comcast’s Internet Essentials, which is the oldest and most extensive program. Comcast started the program in 2011 and has continually studied and changed the program to improve its outcomes. That is the path the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress should follow with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

If there are any telephone companies in the US that are experts at closing the digital divide it’s the ones in Alaska. The state encompasses 663,267 square miles, which is more than Texas, California and Montana combined. And Alaska’s MTA has been connecting citizens of the state for over 70 years, so it has a lot of experience.

The press is suddenly full of articles talking about how some internet service providers (ISPs) are offering affordable rates to low-income homes now that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) monthly subsidy has died. Some ISPs are extending the $30 discount for a limited time, while others are offering more affordable broadband plans than in the past. Other ISPs are only making a nod towards affordable broadband and some aren’t giving any discounts to low-income households.

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association advises stakeholders to heed four recommendations regarding the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding program. NTCA’s first recommendation applies to providers that don’t plan to apply for BEAD funding, as well as those who plan to do so. Noting that most states are just beginning the BEAD challenge process, NTCA said the challenge process is critical to determining areas eligible for funding.

This paper hypothesizes that Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enrollment decisions are not solely individual, but also influenced by community-wide considerations, such as housing costs, share of occupied houses, presence of anchor institutions such as public libraries, and population density (i.e., whether a place is urban or rural). The paper develops a regression model that predicts ACP enrollment rates among eligible households at the 5-digit zip code geography as a function of the variables discussed above.

Through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pennsylvania was allocated over $1.1 billion to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet service.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) came to a close at the start of June, due to a lack of funding and a failed effort in Congress to pass extended appropriations in time. But the program is not entirely dead yet. A couple of potential paths forward have reemerged in Congress.

By connecting more people to the internet via the Affordable Connectivity Program, the savings from reductions in the cost of Medicaid alone could result in a net gain to the government.  And that does not incorporate savings from Medicare, the Veterans Administration, and other government-funded healthcare programs.  Further, there are other savings related to other government programs.  For lower-income individuals, adopting in-home broadband increases their likelihood of employment by 14%, with 62% of those newly connected households citing the connection as having helped them or a 

As of June 1, the Affordable Connectivity Program has officially come and gone. Question is, now what?

After the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program on June 1, Government Technology analyzed enrollment data published by the White House to determine where state and local government leaders might expect to see the biggest impact as a result of the end of the program. While California, New York, Texas, Florida and Ohio had the largest numbers of Internet subscribers