The BEAD program is the flagship initiative of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to address inequalities in broadband access. Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the program provides $42.45 billion to states and U.S. territories to expand high-speed Internet, primarily through direct grants to service operators. Congress established that the…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
With the expiration of the ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) benefit in May 2024, Lifeline remains the only alternative federal program that supports digital connectivity for low-income families. Yet for a variety of reasons, Lifeline enrollment has been declining since its peak in the early 2010s. One reason is the complex web of procedures to demonstrate…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
Did ACP have a measurable impact on broadband access? Did the program help connect low-income families that otherwise would not have been connected? As the ACP program winds down, these questions become ever more important for policymakers and policy advocates. In this study, we offer preliminary evidence that ACP in fact helped increase broadband adoption…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
Blog Post #2: Analyzing the Impact of Potential Changes to Program-Based Eligibility In the first post of this series on the future of the ACP program, we analyzed potential changes to the income threshold used to determine ACP eligibility. In this second post, we turn our attention to potential changes to the eligibility criteria based…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
Blog Post #1: Analyzing the Impact of Potential Changes to the ACP Eligibility Criteria| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
Discussions about funding for social programs are too often framed along predictable partisan lines. However, the reality on the ground is frequently more complex, and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is no exception. A simple look at the data reveals that the program supports connectivity for families in both red and blue communities, and that…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
The ACP State-Level Dashboard simultaneously displays ACP participation rates in February 2023 and Jan-to-Dec 2022 enrollment growth for each state. The scatterplot on the left shows the relationship between state-level ACP participation and growth, with lines representing the median value for the selected states. This four-quadrant format helps visualize states with high participation/high growth (right…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
On March 10, 2023, the FCC Affordable Broadband Outreach Grants Program allocated a total of $66 million in 197 grants to 195 organizations in 50 U.S. States and Territories.. On March 15, the FCC announced an additional $7.5 million in Outreach Grants to 32 organizations in 22 states for two additional outreach programs. Overall, 221…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is the most ambitious federal initiative put into place to bridge the broadband connectivity gap for low-income Americans. The ACP launched in January 2022, serving almost 10 million households that were transitioned from the Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB). By the end of 2022 it had enrolled another 5.4 million…| USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication