What Is the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Access from AT&T
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4.25
Up to
$30.00
/mo
Up to 100 Mbps
No annual contract
In-home Wi-Fi
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3
$9.95
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$9.95–$35.00
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300–940 Mbps
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Catherine McNally
Nov 08, 2023
bullet4 min read

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The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help low-income families stay connected to the internet. 

The ACP provides a $30 monthly subsidy to cover your internet costs (or a $75 monthly subsidy if you live on Tribal lands). It also includes a one-time discount of up to $100 on a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer.

We've sorted through all the details to help you figure out whether you qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program and answer any questions you may have.

Guide to the Affordable Connectivity Program:

Which internet providers have service in your area? Enter your zip code below to find out.

Who qualifies?

At least one person in your household needs to meet certain requirements in order to qualify for an internet subsidy through the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Affordable Connectivity Program eligibility

You can qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program if at least one person in your household meets these requirements:

  • Participates in the free and reduced-price school lunch or school breakfast program (including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision)

—OR—

  • Received a Federal Pell Grant in the current award year

—OR—

  • Is enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

And if you already qualify for the Lifeline federal assistance program (a program that offers internet payment help), you should be eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program, too. One thing to note: Lifeline requires an income of 135% or less than federal poverty guidelines, but the ACP requires the following:

  • Your income is 200% or less than federal poverty guidelines 

—OR—

  • You or someone in your household (including children and dependents) participate in one of the following federal programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly known as Food Stamps), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA), or Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit

—OR—

  • You live on Tribal lands, and at least one person in your household (including children and dependents) participates in Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Head Start (only if your household meets the income qualifying standard), Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

You also need to be in an area with a participating internet service provider. We list those providers a little farther down, but you can check what ISPs are available near you in the meantime.

How do you apply for the Lifeline program?

To apply for Lifeline, you can fill out an application online through the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) or mail one in. Once you qualify for Lifeline, your service provider should enroll you in the benefit program.

Additionally, if your internet service provider (ISP) participates in Lifeline, they may have ways for you to apply through them.

What is Lifeline?

Lifeline is a federal assistance program that gets eligible households up to $9.25 off their monthly phone or internet bill. The Tribal Lifeline program gets eligible households up to $34.25 off their monthly phone or internet bill.

What benefits does the program provide?

The Affordable Connectivity Program provides up to $30 toward an eligible household’s monthly internet bill—or up to $75 for those living on Tribal lands. You can apply your subsidy to any internet plan if your provider participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program. For example, with Xfinity's Internet Essentials plan, veterans get discounted internet service for sometimes less than $10 a month.

Eligible households can also receive up to $100 toward one laptop, desktop computer, or tablet purchased through their internet provider. But you must pay at least $10–$50 for the device to receive the discount.

It’s important to note that the $30, $75, or $100 subsidies aren’t paid directly to you. Instead, they go to your internet provider, which should discount your service or the cost of the device you purchase. That also means that if your internet plan costs less than $30 or $75 a month, you won't be able to pocket the extra money.

Also, each eligible household gets only one monthly discount on their internet service and only one device discount.

How long do the benefits last?

Currently, there's no end date listed for the Affordable Connectivity Program. We expect that as long as it continues to receive funding, the subsidy will still be available.

As for anyone enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, you’ll continue to receive your $50 monthly bill discount until March 2022. After that, you'll receive the $30 monthly ACP subsidy.

The FCC is still hashing out whether program participants must re-apply to continue receiving benefits. We expect most folks won't need to reverify eligibility after the EBB Program officially ends. But keep an eye out for messages from the USAC in case you do need to reapply.

How to apply

Applications for the Affordable Connectivity Program are submitted the following ways

Apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program online

If you apply online, be prepared to provide the following information:

  • Your name
  • Your address
  • Your date of birth
  • A form of ID: Either your social security number, Tribal ID number, OR a form of government-issued ID, like a driver's license, passport, or taxpayer ID number
  • A photo or scanned image of your ID (if you don't have a scanner, you can take a photo with your phone)

Apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program by mail

Mail applications to the Affordable Connectivity Program should be sent to the following address:

ACP Support Center
P.O. Box 7081
London, KY 40742

You can likely speed up the process by also mailing any required documents with your application. Just be sure to include a cover sheet (PDF) if you do so the processing team can match your documents to your application.

Apply through your internet provider

If your internet provider is participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program, they may have ways for you to apply through them.

The USAC has an easy search tool to find participating ISPs in your area, either by entering your zip code or city and state.

Which internet providers are participating?

More than 300 different internet providers are participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The approved providers differ by state, and you can check out which providers are participating in your state on the FCC's site or with the USAC's Companies Near Me tool.

Here are some of the bigger service providers participating in the ACP:

Other ACP providers

Here are some other, smaller providers participating in the ACP in some way.

Provider
Also offering connected devices?
Allo Communications

No

AltaFiber

No

Astound

No

Breezeline

No

Comporium

No

Hawaiian Telecom

No

IdeaTek

No

Jackson Energy AuthorityNo
MLGC

No

Optimum

No

Starry Internet

No

Vermont Telephone Company

No

Vexus Fiber

No

Our recommended ACP providers

We consider these the top offers you can get through ACP.

ACP plans comparison
Service
Price
Download speed
Deatails
Access from AT&TUp to $30.00/mo.Up to 100 Mbps
Cox Connect2Complete$9.95/mo.Up to 100 Mbps
Spectrum Internet Assist$30.00/mo.Ask upon application
Verizon Forward ProgramUp to $49.99/mo.300–940 Mbps
Xfinity Internet Essentials$9.95–$35.00/mo.50–200 Mbps

Data effective 09/14/2023. Offers are subject to change.

Mobile and internet providers participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program

And while it seems like most providers aren't offering connected devices, non-profits human-I-T and PCs for People are offering to help get your hands on connected devices. Both were listed as Emergency Broadband Benefit Program participants, so we expect they'll continue to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Catherine McNally
Written by
Catherine McNally
Catherine has a degree in journalism and an MBA, and has spent the last 10+ years writing everything from Okinawa travel guides to stories on Medium. She’s been online since AOL CDs were a thing and is an unapologetic PC gamer. She believes the internet is a necessity, not a luxury, and writes reviews and guides to help everyone stay connected. You can also find her on Twitter: @CMReviewsIt.

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