A Sustainable Path Toward Digital Equity Must Prioritize Broadband Affordability Assistance

The process of creating effective, pro-consumer policies is often filled with opportunities, challenges, and ambiguity. The process has been no different for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which allowed 23 million low-income households an opportunity to reliably connect to affordable high-speed internet. Unfortunately, due to the inaction of Congress, the program expired at the end of May and left those households with band-aid, temporary solutions to meet their critical connectivity needs. The failure to fund the ACP in the short-term is shameful and impacts low-income households the most, but it also puts the efficiency of broadband deployment and broadband adoption programs at risk. And while the resultant harms cannot be undone, they can be rectified if swift Congressional action is taken to restore the ACP.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were few options to adequately address the broadband affordability crisis in America, both for households who were never connected to high-speed internet and for those who were part of “subscription vulnerable” households, who cycle on and off a connection depending on their monthly expenses. And because so many people are in the habit of advocating for and implementing programs that only allow our most underserved populations to just get by and not what allows them to thrive, consumers were paying for connections they could not afford or they enrolled themselves in ISP-run discount internet offers, which were not universal, had high barriers to entry, and often failed to deliver sufficient speeds for households’ needs. Families may have also been enrolled in the Lifeline program which still provides a $9.25 discount on broadband services or broadband-voice bundled services but has far fewer participating providers and a subsidy amount that does not equate to the type of broadband plan one could receive with a $30 or $50 subsidy. 

But like many things that seemed so obvious before, the COVID-19 pandemic changed hearts, minds, and most importantly, policies, and that led to Congress funding the first iteration of a robust broadband affordability program called the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB). And because the EBB was so successful, Congress rightly created the Affordable Connectivity Program, which was funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The ACP perfectly dovetailed with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Act programs, which provide a historic amount of funding for broadband deployment and broadband adoption activities, respectively. 

Despite these achievements, we are back in a frustrating territory because Congress failed to fund a program that has far-reaching bipartisan support across varying populations and geographic regions. As civil rights activist Ella Baker once said, “In order to see where we are going, we not only must remember where we have been, but we must understand where we have been.” As it relates to the broadband affordability crisis, historically, policymakers have not only lacked the imagination and political will to solve it, but have also failed to understand the needs of low-income and middle-income families in America. In overlooking the affordability element of the broadband access equation, they’ve neglected to develop a robust, public, digital equity infrastructure that ensures households, communities, and our country can compete economically and obtain the benefits of high-speed internet access. This is why Congress must prioritize a vehicle to get short-term funding for the ACP, especially as policymakers and policy influencers work diligently to find a long-term funding solution, such as through a reimagined FCC Universal Service Fund.

Public Knowledge is gearing up to deliver a powerful wake-up call to Congress about the need for a permanent broadband affordability solution, but also a reminder of how affordability is essential to meeting the goals of the Infrastructure Law, advancing economic justice, and facilitating equitable participation in the artificial intelligence revolution. 

This Thursday, August 29, Public Knowledge will be joined by allies including the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, and the Digital Equity and Opportunity Initiative in Atlanta, Georgia for the “The Path to Digital Equity: Elevating Local Voices to Drive National Impact.” Atlanta has long been known as a dynamic city grounded in community, culture, and innovation. As the capital of Georgia, it is also a political hub that drives progress. It is here where decisions are made on how best to close the digital divide across urban and rural communities in the state. Most importantly, Atlanta is in the South. As Tressie McMillan Cottom once said, it is imperative to keep our minds on the South because “[n]othing about the future of this country can be resolved unless it is first resolved [in the South]: not the climate crisis, or the border, or life expectancy, or anything else of national importance, unless you solve it in the South and with the people of the South.”