Higher Incomes Now Eligible for Discounts on High-Speed Internet

As of April 1, more than 95 percent of participants in the Affordable Connectivity Program also qualified for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the federal government’s largest program for fighting hunger and food insecurity. Almost 80 percent qualified for Medicaid. 

“It’s become more important than ever before that we get every household everywhere reliable and consistent broadband access,” Jessica Rosenworcel, Federal Communications Commission chairwoman, told an AARP tele-town hall meeting last year. “I think that goes for young and old alike.”

Additional subsidies and protections

Help for members of tribes. Households on Native American tribal lands qualify for benefits of up to $75 a month, an amount higher than the rest of the country because of the challenges of serving remote areas with less population density. Alaska, New Mexico and South Dakota are the states with the highest percentages of Native Americans, according to the 2020 census.

Territories eligible, too. Puerto Rico continues to have the highest rate of ACP enrollment per 1,000 households as of May 15, according to the website. It has the highest poverty rate among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and one territory that are part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.

Louisiana, Kentucky, New Mexico and Ohio round out the top five for ACP enrollment rate. Those jurisdictions have the second-, seventh-, fourth- and 18th-highest percentages of residents living in poverty.

Discount on a device. Eligible households nationwide also can receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers if the consumer contributes $10 to $50 toward the purchase price.

Better transparency. The Affordable Connectivity Program prohibits upselling — telling customers that they can’t use the benefit on their older, less expensive data plans — or requirements for extended service contracts. These are complaints that some beneficiaries had about their carriers under the Emergency Broadband Benefits program.

It also requires internet service providers to make standard labels available, inspired by government nutrition labeling, for internet download and upload speeds, monthly service costs, taxes, and any equipment and other fees. These rules will likely go into effect starting in late 2023 or early to mid-2024 for most providers.

“If [internet providers] have the more affordable plan that works for you, you can choose it,” AARP’s Kahsai says. The White House has asked providers not to add fees or data caps to their $30 plans.

“The [FCC] should monitor labels to ensure that ISP ‘explanations and context’ or efforts to make labels more ‘understandable’ do not result in misleading or confusing information being provided in the labels,” AARP wrote to the FCC.

$65 billion for creating better broadband

The Affordable Connectivity Program is just a part of the roughly $65 billion approved to improve access to high-quality, high-speed internet contained in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law Nov. 15, 2021.

Some of that money will go toward what Kahsai calls “digital equity.” The new law allocates $2.75 billion for digital literacy training to make sure that everyone — regardless of language, ability or age — has the skills needed to take advantage of their connection to the internet.

About $42.5 billion is being allocated to bring high-speed internet to unserved areas that will benefit families of all incomes. These often include rural areas where population density is low and mountainous areas that can be challenging for companies to reach.

This new service also must have speeds of at least 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads. Each state will start out with $100 million from that pot of money and will be able to get more based on its unserved and underserved needs.

With the new law, “we have an opportunity to put a dent … in the digital divide,” Kahsai says.

Check the broadband map for your address

About 14.5 million Americans — and 22 percent of those 65 and older — don’t have access to high-speed internet, the FCC estimates. Other estimates say that as many as 42 million people in the U.S. are on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The FCC released the first draft of a new national broadband map to the public in November. It is now allowing local governments, tribes and internet service providers to offer feedback to its preliminary findings. The map’s goal is to offer an accurate picture of the availability of fixed broadband internet access across the country.

Consumers also can search their own addresses to see if the information available is correct. If it is not, they can fill out a form to tell the agency what’s right.

Who is eligible for the ACP?

Households that have an income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of four, 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline is $60,000 in 2023, a more than 8 percent increase from 2022.

People who use certain federal assistance programs, including Federal Public Housing Assistance, Lifeline, Medicaid, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Lifeline offers up to a $9.25 discount off monthly phone or internet bills to households that make less than 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines or have at least one family member in some public assistance program, such as Medicaid, SNAP or SSI. For a family of four to qualify based on 135 percent of this year’s federal poverty guidelines, its annual income would need to be below $40,500 – $50,625 in Alaska and $46,575 in Hawaii.

People who already use a discounted internet service from a high-speed internet provider that is aimed at low-income households.

Households whose children get free or low-cost school meals.

Households that participate in programs specifically for tribes, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, or Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

College students who receive student aid in the form of federal Pell grants.