The Federal Communications Commission announced a series of enhancements to the online consumer application system for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to make it easier for eligible consumers to apply and enroll in the program. The nation’s largest-ever broadband affordability effort, the ACP is now supporting internet connections in 17 million households. The program, authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. The enhancements are designed to reduce the time it takes to enroll by providing clear instructions, to decrease steps and to simplify language while continuing to protect against waste, fraud and abuse and guarding the integrity of the program. Enhancements were developed in consultation with digital navigators, digital equity advocates, and Internet Service Providers. The FCC will continue to make improvements to ensure that all qualifying consumers can easily access the Affordable Connectivity Program. 

Broadband is no longer a luxury that only a few people need; it is a critical service that supports Americans’ economic opportunity, health, education, recreation, and well-being. Yet in federally subsidized multifamily housing—which refers broadly to rental units other than single-family homes that are supported by federal funding—many residents do not have access to any internet connection, let alone a high-speed connection that can facilitate contemporary online activities, such as telework. To learn more about the challenges and opportunities related to connecting households in federally subsidized multifamily housing, The Pew Charitable Trusts interviewed experts in housing, broadband, and digital equity, as well as personnel from federal and state agencies that provide funding for the development and operation of affordable housing. Pew also received responses to a set of emailed questions from three internet service providers (ISPs): two large national ISPs and a fixed wireless provider that has partnered with affordable housing providers to serve residents. This research primarily focused on place-based multifamily housing programs subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but interviewees also addressed other programs, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, administered by the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service. Many of the findings apply to all these types of housing. This brief outlines the results of Pew’s research and explores strategies to boost broadband access and adoption in federally subsidized multifamily housing.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is in “close coordination” with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the update to the second version of the National Broadband Map, which will be used to determine state Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) allocations. “We are working with our colleagues at the FCC to determine when we will obtain the version of the map to use for our BEAD allocations,” an NTIA spokesperson said. NTIA is scheduled to release state BEAD allocations by June 30, 2023, and undoubtedly will need some time to work with the FCC data before it can determine those allocations. A bill introduced in the Senate would delay that date to give the FCC time to fix what the bill sponsors called a “deeply flawed” map, but some states are unlikely to support that bill as they say the map is good enough and does not want delays. Assuming the June 30 date holds, NTIA confirmed that allocations will be based on version two of the map’s location database plus the results of broadband data availability challenges adjudicated during the spring of 2023.