Adoption

Growing up in a bustling suburb, accessing the internet was something I took for granted. I never thought about internet access or access in other parts of the country. It wasn’t until I embarked on my journey at USTelecom that I began to learn about the challenges of deploying broadband in rural communities. I headed to Sulphur, Oklahoma, population 4,700, home to the Chickasaw Telephone Company, to better understand what it takes to deploy broadband in rural America. USTelecom members, like Chickasaw, are leading the way in connecting rural America.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is in grave danger. According to estimates from the Federal Communications Commission, the program will run out of money in April. A wave of sudden disconnects associated with the program’s end could hit ISPs hard. But just how much exposure do they have? And do they have any plans in place to keep vulnerable customers connected? We took the subscriber question straight to the big guns and asked what plans they have for keeping subscribers connected in a post-ACP world. Here’s what they told us (and what we could dig up).

The federal government has spent $12.82 billion in the last two years helping low-income households pay for internet service. Almost a quarter of it has gone to one company. Charter Communications received $3.01 billion through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a larger slice than any of its competitors.

What does solving the digital divide look like? The simple answer—getting more people online—is tempting, but it’s just a first step. Focusing only on home adoption rates provides a too limited perspective on the benefits of solving the digital divide. Consistency of connectivity is a key issue for low-income households—and this consistency is an important part of what the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) offers. For many households, the digital divide is not a one-time bridge to cross. Instead, online connectivity can be episodic.

Today is the first day of the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). As you read this, one out of every six American households is being notified that their internet bill may soon spike and potentially become unaffordable. The ACP is a federal benefit that is currently helping 22.8 million low-income households afford internet service. However, the ACP is running out of funding. If Congress does not act soon, the ACP will end this Spring and the millions of people who rely on it will experience a sudden bill shock.

The Purdue Center for Regional Development—in partnership with the Indiana Broadband Office, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Purdue Extension—has developed a draft of the state’s first-ever Digital Equity Plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that accessing healthcare providers can be difficult for older adults, especially those with multiple chronic conditions who depend on primary care for disease management. The internet is a powerful tool for increasing access to healthcare information, resources, and social supports. Unfortunately, there is a “digital divide” in internet connectivity and use associated with social and demographic characteristics. During the pandem

The purpose of the Arkansas Digital Skills and Opportunity Plan is to outline an actionable path forward to make digital opportunity an economic benefit and reality for all Arkansans. This plan will position the state’s residents to pursue cross-sectoral economic growth through broadband-related, nondeployment activities and enhance workforce development. The draft plan is open for public comment until January 25, 2024. ARConnect has a detailed vision for achieving digital opportunity in Arkansas: 

The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) is located in the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. OBD was created by statute in 2013 and just completed its tenth year of work on its mission to improve access to broadband service that meets the state’s speed goals, serving the needs of anchor institutions, and expanding the skills and knowledge needed to use these services. Border-to-Border high speed internet access is the goal throughout Minnesota. 2023 milestones for the Office included:

CableLabs, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and several large and midsized cable operators are promoting a new framework profile for secure Internet routing that they hope to expand and enhance by engaging with other types of service providers, Internet organizations and IP networking groups. CableLabs has released a "Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Internet Routing" that aims to serve as the foundation for improving the security of the Internet's routing system, with an emphasis on core routing protocols such as the Border Gateway Protocol, the Resource Public Key Infr