Posts
Can automation promote digital equity by boosting enrollment in connectivity subsidy programs?
With the expiration of the ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) benefit in May 2024, Lifeline remains the only alternative federal program that supports digital connectivity for low-income families. Yet for a variety of reasons, Lifeline enrollment has been declining since its peak in the early 2010s. One reason is the complex web of procedures to demonstrate…
Evaluating the Impact of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
Did ACP have a measurable impact on broadband access? Did the program help connect low-income families that otherwise would not have been connected? As the ACP program winds down, these questions become ever more important for policymakers and policy advocates. In this study, we offer preliminary evidence that ACP in fact helped increase broadband adoption…
The Future of the Affordable Connectivity Program
Blog Post #2: Analyzing the Impact of Potential Changes to Program-Based Eligibility In the first post of this series on the future of the ACP program, we analyzed potential changes to the income threshold used to determine ACP eligibility. In this second post, we turn our attention to potential changes to the eligibility criteria based…
The Future of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Blog Post #1: Analyzing the Impact of Potential Changes to the ACP Eligibility Criteria
Broadband for all: The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefits households across party lines
Discussions about funding for social programs are too often framed along predictable partisan lines. However, the reality on the ground is frequently more complex, and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is no exception. A simple look at the data reveals that the program supports connectivity for families in both red and blue communities, and that…
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) State-Level Dashboard
The ACP State-Level Dashboard simultaneously displays ACP participation rates in February 2023 and Jan-to-Dec 2022 enrollment growth for each state. The scatterplot on the left shows the relationship between state-level ACP participation and growth, with lines representing the median value for the selected states. This four-quadrant format helps visualize states with high participation/high growth (right…
FCC Outreach Grants: Reaching the Non-Enrolled
On March 10, 2023, the FCC Affordable Broadband Outreach Grants Program allocated a total of $66 million in 197 grants to 195 organizations in 50 U.S. States and Territories.. On March 15, the FCC announced an additional $7.5 million in Outreach Grants to 32 organizations in 22 states for two additional outreach programs. Overall, 221…
A look at the Affordable Connectivity Program’s inaugural year through interactive dashboards
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is the most ambitious federal initiative put into place to bridge the broadband connectivity gap for low-income Americans. The ACP launched in January 2022, serving almost 10 million households that were transitioned from the Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB). By the end of 2022 it had enrolled another 5.4 million…