Low-income

What Happens to BEAD Without the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program will fail if Congress doesn’t renew the Affordable Connectivity Program that states are relying on to connect low-income Americans. National Telecommunications and Information Agency Administrator Alan Davidson explained to Congress that the BEAD Program will be 

FCC Adopts Rules to Prevent & Eliminate Digital Discrimination

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted final rules to prevent digital discrimination of access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin. The new rules establish a framework to facilitate equal access to broadband internet services by preventing digital discrimination of access.

Reactions to the FCC's Rules to Prevent & Eliminate Digital Discrimination

Vice President Kamala Harris said, "One provision of our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Biden signed exactly two years ago directed the Federal Communications Commission to create first-of-its-kind rules to prevent digital discrimination. Today, the FCC answered our call by voting to adopt these necessary rules, taking a critical step to prohibit digital discrimination in high-speed Internet access based on income, race, ethnicity, religion, and national origin.

Led by Tri-Caucus Chairs, 101 Members of Congress Urge Leadership to Replenish Affordable Connectivity Program’s Funding

As Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, we write urging you to include $6 billion needed to replenish the highly popular and effective Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in any government funding package, as requested by President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 emergency supplemental funding proposal. Established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the ACP is a true bipartisan public policy success story.

Investment Meets Impact: Celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Two years after President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and other agencies have distributed billions of dollars to communities to bridge the digital divide and make participation in the digital economy a reality for everyone. At NTIA, we completed funding rounds for multiple programs in the last year and are moving to the implementation phase, all the while preparing states and territories to administer their state grant programs.

Here's How the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is Delivering Broadband in Your State

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is, in part, a $65 billion investment in closing the digital divide. To mark the law's second anniversary of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the White House released state-by-state fact sheets with information about how funding from the law is helping to deploy broadband networks where they haven't reached before while also connecting and keeping connected low-income households around the country.

Equal Access to Broadband: Breaking Down Digital Discrimination Rules Required by Congress

The Federal Communications Commission is set to implement the first bipartisan broadband access antidiscrimination law of the digital age. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gave the FCC a clear mandate: to adopt rules within two years to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination of access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, and national origin. While Congress explicitly directed the FCC to “prevent” and “eliminate” digital discrimination of access, the agency will ensure that process is fair and reasonable.

The Seven Broadband Gaps

Where are we in terms of closing the seven gaps that we think of, or should think of, as the elements of the digital divide? The seven gaps are the rural access gap, the affordability gap, the operating gap of very high-cost rural providers, the adoption gap, the institutional gap, the cable/copper gap, and the utilization gap. We could be using the network to improve outcomes in education, health care, government services, public safety, carbon reduction, civic engagement, and other public purposes. But to do achieve those goals, we need to close all seven broadband gaps.

How a US Government Shutdown Risks Expanding the Digital Divide

As a government shutdown looms over the nation, millions of Americans risk losing internet access. Americans have come to rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) for a $30/month broadband subsidy to stay connected to their communities. Many will be forced to go without, from families who receive Medicaid and SNAP benefits to veterans and Pell Grant recipients. As costs for everything from housing to healthcare continue skyrocketing, families who struggle to make ends meet will have to choose between putting food on the table and having essential broadband access.

Governors Advocate for Affordable Connectivity Program

As Governors from across the country, we urge you to work collaboratively with the Biden Administration to ensure that a key tool in our joint efforts to bridge the digital divide—the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—receives additional funding. It is essential that people do not lose access to the internet that this vital program has allowed them to gain. There is broad agreement across the political spectrum that affordable high-speed internet is a necessity in today’s world, whether it’s for education, work or health care.