Monthly scorecard highlights ACP enrollment data
KC Digital Drive has been compiling and analyzing enrollment data for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal program that provides a broadband subsidy up to $30/month to low-income households with an additional one-time $100 device discount, and we’re excited to announce the first edition of the Greater Kansas City ACP Report. As we work with KC-area partners, including regional broadband data work with the Mid-America Regional Council, to develop a more strategic response/approach to get more eligible households signed up, we will be issuing a regular report about the region’s ACP activities and progress in increasing enrollment.
The Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC), which administers the ACP, one of several Congressional Response programs and funds that Congress created during the COVID-19 pandemic, publishes ACP enrollment totals on a monthly basis. If all eligible households in KC not currently signed up for the ACP were to enroll, there would be a net of $4.1 million/month ($49 million/year) in additional money to the KC economy.
KC Digital Drive has been conducting outreach efforts since the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, the first iteration of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), was created in May 2021. We’ve also been including information about the ACP in our communications with recipients of our own internet subsidy funding through the Internet Access Support Program, which has provided six months of no-cost internet service to about 1,200 households in the KC region. We hope you’ll find this report helpful and would love to hear from you about what you’d like to know about the impact of this federal program.
If you’re new to the ACP but want to get up to speed quickly so you can help the people you serve get lower-cost internet service, Take a look at this overview from NDIA and the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society or visit the EducationSuperhighway ACP resource hub for a variety of materials and resources.