Low-income
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ACP vs Private Low-Income Plans
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).
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ISPs Response to the End of ACP
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.
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Understanding uptake in demand-side broadband subsidy programs: The affordable connectivity program case
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.
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Ten Things About ACP that Ted Cruz Cares About #4 ACP and GDP
A fair reading of Dr. John Horrigan’s work would start by adopting his insight that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is part of a three-legged stool that during the pandemic helped increase broadband adoption and sustain it for low-income households.
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Pennsylvania's Plan for Affordable Broadband
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 ACP is not dead yet
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.
Michigan bill will ensure equal pricing for telehealth, in-person visits for MedicaidMichigan bill will ensure equal pricing for telehealth, in-person visits for Medicaid
Michigan Medicaid patients need only Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's signature to be able to pay the same rates for telehealth as they do for in-person doctor's visits. HB 4580, sponsored by Rep. Felicia Brabec, D-Pittsfield, has already passed the Senate and House.
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Request for Proposals for Residential Retrofit Program
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, on behalf of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) is issuing this Request for Proposals for the Residential Retrofit Program to solicit applications from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or Managed Service Providers (MSPs) for fiber construction to eligible Affordable Housing Properties and in-building and in-unit installation of cabling and related equipment.
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Ten Things About ACP that Ted Cruz Cares About #3 Net Cost Savings to Government
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
The Affordable Connectivity Program is over—now what?
As of June 1, the Affordable Connectivity Program has officially come and gone. Question is, now what?