Adoption

FCC Chair Unveils Latest ACP Metrics at Net Inclusion 2024

A recent survey revealed that 81 percent of households with schoolchildren receiving a monthly broadband subsidy are worried about the prospect of losing this assistance and its potential effects on their children's education, according to the Universal Service Administrative Company. These metrics “demonstrate with incredible clarity just how important it is to stay connected in modern life and how dangerous it is to threaten disconnection,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Seattle Technology Access and Adoption Study

The study, conducted every five years, provides valuable data and insight on internet access and use, devices, digital skills, civic participation, training needs, and safety and security concerns. Results help guide the City and community digital equity programs to serve residents better.

Commissioner Starks Joins Congressional Black Caucus Chair Horsford To Advocate for ACP

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) visited the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority to hear from residents and state and local officials about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)’s positive impact on closing the digital divide and the need for Congress to continue the program.

Commissioner Gomez's ACP Remarks at State of the Net

Considering this is the 20th anniversary of State of the Net, I think it’s worth noting one constant: we have had a digital divide that separates the connected haves from the connected have-nots in our country.  Another constant going back decades is a shared recognition that, unless and until we bridge that divide, we will not fulfill the promise of the Internet age for our economy and our society.  In 2024, that digital divide persists. But let me tell you what’s changed.  Like never before, closing America’s digital divide is within our reach.  And that’s not by accident.

What's Your State's Digital Equity Plan?

To achieve true digital equity, deploying broadband to every household in the United States will not be enough. What is also needed are robust, comprehensive programs that address the human side of closing the digital divide and ensuring everyone has access to the technologies, skills, and opportunities necessary to thrive. Over the last seven months and with funding from the Digital Equity Act's State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have released draft digital equity plans for public review and comment.

Connectivity in the Commonwealth: Virginia's Plan

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) Office of Broadband released its draft Digital Opportunity Plan to the public. The plan is a first-of-its-kind undertaking to assess all facets of the digital divide in the Commonwealth and develop a strategy to close it.

The Vital Mission of Ensuring Affordable Connectivity Everywhere

With over 23 million households relying on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to financially support their connection to…well, everything…it is jarring to think the program may soon no longer exist. Losing this broadband subsidy program will force families to make hard choices and will likely lead to many losing connectivity altogether.  With the value of a network based upon its ability to connect everyone, this is not a good result for our country. Worse yet, a lack of ACP fu

A Wholistic Digital Equity Plan for Rhode Island

On January 9, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation and ConnectRI initiative released the draft Rhode Island Digital Equity Plan for public comment. Through this plan, the Commerce Corporation is working to ensure that investment in digital equity efforts produces wholistic results—including widespread digital literacy and access to necessary devices as well as affordable, reliable, fast connectivity.

As FCC Freezes ACP Enrollment, Benton Institute Asks Congress to Act

Today, the doors are closing on the most successful broadband affordability program in U.S. history—the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—despite the ACP’s overwhelming support from voters, advocates, industry, state officials, and Members of Congress. The ACP was created so that financial hardship would never be a barrier to internet access. If you lost your job one day, the ACP meant you could still look for work the next. No distance could keep you from your doctor, your teacher, or your loved ones.

Who is About to Lose their ACP Discount?

The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), established in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is expected to end this Spring if it does not receive additional funding from Congress soon. The funding situation is so dire that this week the FCC halted any new enrollments in the program. For millions of people eligible for the ACP, affordable broadband service is getting harder to obtain.

Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program Forms

The White House Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has scored four forms that will be part of the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. The four forms are: Application, Consolidated Budget, Digital Equity Plan Amendments, and Specific Projects. OIRA has calculated how many hours it will take to complete each form.

A federal program has kept my family connected. Please don't let it shut down.

In this economy, life as a working mom and caregiver for my grandma makes me feel like a magician. I pull rabbits out of my hat constantly. Every day, I somehow make a dollar out of 15 cents. Whether it’s the car payment, utilities, childcare, or rent, the economy does a great disappearing act with my income. A new program to lower the cost of my monthly internet, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has helped my daily magic show. It’s why I’m surprised to hear politicians in Washington are talking about letting it vanish in April. Congress needs to work together to save the program.

Democracy Fund Invests $3 Million in Local Organizing for Digital Equity

In 2023, Democracy Fund invested $3 million in grants to support state and local leaders advancing digital equity. We believe this work is vital for an inclusive, multiracial democracy. The 2023 Digital Democracy grantees  all share a commitment to action toward community-focused media policy and tech accountability. 

National Day of Action Spurs 280,000+ Calls, Emails, and Tweets to Save Critical Broadband Subsidy

Americans made more than 280,000 calls, emails, and social media posts to Congress in support of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program needs $7 billion in funding from Congress to ensure people aren’t disconnected from the internet in 2024. Don’t Disconnect US Day, which took place on January 25, spurred those who care about affordable internet to contact their congressional representatives. The resulting actions from supporters calling for Congress to fund the program included:

3 Ways High-Speed Internet Enriches Lives of Rural Americans

High-speed internet is something we count on to function day to day. The service elevates the lives and livelihoods of Americans whose broadband needs have been previously unmet. The 2023 Cox Expansion Impact Survey found 86 percent of consumer respondents with recently available high-speed internet said their lives have improved. This report outlines three ways that high-speed internet enriches the lives of rural Americans:

Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband

In a far cry from the early 2000s, most US adults today say they use the internet (95%), have a smartphone (90%) or subscribe to high-speed internet at home (80%), according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023. Though adoption of these technologies has surged over the past two decades, there are notable differences by age, household income and educational attainment. There are large gaps between the lowest- and highest-income Americans in whether they have a broadband subscription.

Broadband across the nation: 2024 funding tracker

Tracking broadband funding awards as they happen. In January 2024:

Here’s what regional, local internet service providers are saying about an ACP shutdown

The fate of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains unknown, but with the Federal Communications Commission scheduled to halt new enrollments in February, internet service providers are thinking about how a shutdown would impact the consumers relying on the subsidy. Some of the bigger companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, said on their earnings calls they have backup plans if the ACP goes away. But what do the regional and rural providers think about the situation?

Study: Loss of Affordable Connectivity Program would be 'barely material' for Comcast

New Street Research took a deeper dive into the risks faced by wireline broadband operators if the government fails to refund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and it were to be shut down this spring. The study confirms that Charter Communications faces the greatest risk—by far.

52 Visions of Digital Equity—Your State Has One

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have drafted their digital equity plans and sought public input on how to improve their strategies to ensure that every community has the capacity needed for full participation in our increasingly connectivity-dependent society, democracy, and economy. As part of their plans, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has asked states to provide a clear, specific picture of their visions for digital equity.

Addressing Digital Equity Needs in Iowa

In early January 2024, the Iowa Department of Management (DOM) released the draft State of Iowa Digital Equity Plan for public comment. The Digital Equity Plan outlines the results of extensive research and outreach efforts to set baseline conditions and goals for addressing digital equity opportunities in Iowa.

Can the Affordable Connectivity Program be Sustainable?

By now, everybody has written about the pending end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The White House asked Congress to fund the ACP for a year for over $6 billion, and almost everyone I know is betting against a miracle from Congress. But even if the ACP gets funded somehow, how sustainable is the ACP if Congress has to act every year to renew it? There have been calls for moving the ACP under the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF).