Low-income

April is the last fully funded month for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and the forecast for its future is looking grim. On March 23, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Congress’ final, fiscal year 2024 spending package, worth a whopping $1.2 trillion. The kicker? The over-1000-page legislation contained no mention of additional funding for the ACP. And the numbers aren’t looking pretty. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has appropriated a total of around $17 billion for the ACP and its predecessor the Emergency Broadband Benefit program.

I am writing to provide an update on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is on the brink of shutting down due to lack of funding.  This program is the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history.  Today, more than 23 million households nationwide count on it to get online and stay online, including vulnerable seniors, veterans, school-aged children, and residents of rural and Tribal communities.

The importance of high-speed internet was seared into the American psyche by scenes of children sitting in parking lots and outside fast-food restaurants to attend school online during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that same period, health care providers and patients like Cindy Westman say being connected also became a vital part of today’s health care delivery system. Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) participant Westman said her internet connection has become so important to her access to health care she would sell “anything that I own” to stay connected.

A number of former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials are pointing to expanding the Lifeline program, under the Universal Service Fund (USF), as the way to save a version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and prevent tens of millions of people from losing access to the monthly broadband subsidy. One way the FCC could do that was outlined in a recent petition for expedited rulemaking filed

If Congress doesn’t act soon, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is expected to run out of money by the end of April, leaving millions of Americans without discounted internet services.

The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus announced its endorsement of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, legislation that will facilitate the continuation of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through the end of 2024. The program is currently on track to shut down at the end of April, disrupting broadband access for tens of millions of Americans. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Yvette Clarke (D-NT) and has 215 additional cosponsors, 41 of whom are Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the availability and individual state allocations of approximately $811 million in funding to states, territories, and native entities to empower individuals and communities with the tools, skills, and opportunities to benefit from meaningful access to high-speed Internet service.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez and Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL) hosted a roundtable at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) with Veterans Affairs (VA) social workers and community stakeholders to discuss the positive impact of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on Veterans and their families. “The Affordable Connectivity Program is about making sure everyone, everywhere in this country has access to Internet service that connects them to economic and educational opportunity as well as healthcare services, for example connecting Veterans with VA appoint

The Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands (CNMI) Broadband Policy & Development (BPD) Office released its draft Digital Equity Plan, A Voyage to Digital Equity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In the dynamic landscape of the digital age, where information and opportunities surge like currents across the Marianas Trench, the concept of digital equity emerges as CNMI's northern star.

Today we are releasing our latest version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Enrollment Performance Tool, which updates data through February 2024. We introduce a new feature in this version—the ACP Risk Score for each zip code included in the tool. This score indicates the degree to which households in a given zip code are at risk of losing or reducing internet connectivity should the ACP benefit lapse.