Daily Yonder
Rural Americans Were Less Likely to Enroll in a Federal Broadband Assistance Program. Now It’s Too Late to Sign up
Rural households were not as likely as their urban counterparts to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal fund that is running out of money to help low income families connect to the internet. About a third (37 percent) of rural households that are eligible for the monthly discount on broadband subscriptions had enrolled in the program as of December 2023.
Broadband Subsidy Enrollment Ends Today; Millions Are at Risk of Losing Internet
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will freeze enrollment today (February 7, 2024) because funds are running out for this enormously effective federal program that helps people pay their internet bills.
Planning for a ‘Broadband Breakthrough’ – Rural Illinois Counties Prepare for ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Funding Opportunity
Peggy Braffet and her husband think about broadband a lot. When guests show up to their pick-your-own berry farm, they sometimes expect to be able to pay with credit cards, but the Braffets' slow internet connection won't allow it.
How Much Money Can Broadband Bring a Rural Community? By Some Estimates, Millions.
As the federal government distributes $42.5 billion to expand broadband internet access across America and its territories, some local leaders are asking themselves: How much economic impact could faster internet create?
Rural Families Need Broadband Subsidy Program More but Use It Less
While the future of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains uncertain, it is worth reviewing how the program fared in rural America. Home broadband adoption rates in rural areas have historically been 5-10 percentage points lower than those in urban locations.
Research and Analysis: Rural Internet Subscribers Pay More, New Data Confirms
Rural advocates have high hopes for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. While it primarily focuses on providing infrastructure to places that are “unserved” and “underserved”, there is also a requirement for states to describe how their plans to award funds will address broadband affordability. Both are important topics for rural residents. The most recent data we have show dramatic rural-urban gaps in both broadband access and adoption. It’s widely recognized that affordability plays a large role in why households remain offline.
Black Churches Play a Key Role in Connecting Rural Communities to Broadband Internet
Early in the pandemic, Black churches often struggled to make the switch to remote services for lack of broadband in their area. Even if a church had the wherewithal to livestream services or hold meetings on video platforms, congregants lacked the connections to take advantage.
For Rural Communities, Broadband Expansion Is No Single Thing
Without reliable, affordable internet, rural communities have limited economic opportunities and lack access to education, healthcare, and many other services. Broadband expansion is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, said Adrianne Furniss, director of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society.
The Need for Speed: Rural Users Tend to Have Slower Internet Connections
As the federal government, along with states, gets ready to make a once-in-a-lifetime investment in broadband infrastructure, the concept of the digital divide remains somewhat the same as it was back in the mid-1990s, when the term was coined.