Can attainable broadband deployment be achieved without the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a $14 billion benefit program launched by the Federal Communications Commission to ease the burden of monthly broadband services and the purchase of an internet-enabled device. To date, more than 17 million Americans have enrolled in the program, which offers $30 toward monthly service for low-income households and $75 for those residing on Tribal lands. The ACP, which is an offshoot of the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, is likely to run out of funding by mid-2024. If the program ends, current subscribers will lose out on discounts for more steady online connectivity, and the trillions of dollars of federal investments in broadband infrastructure may result in extensive fiber facilities without customers—particularly those where cost remains increasingly prohibitive.  

Join the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings for an in-person event to discuss the ACP, enrollments, impacts, and potential disruptions to eligible households and communities without continued investments. The event will also include local and national partners who represent the communities dependent on the program, who will discuss how they are leveraging their platforms to make broadband more accessible for historically underserved populations.  

Panel 1 – Why affordable broadband matters

Panel 2 – Who benefits when broadband is affordable?

Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at @BrookingsGov by using #ACPFuture.