In today’s digital world, where everything from purchasing a pen to doing work is all dependent on the internet, its shutdown for a minute can disturb your whole routine. In order to get your daily chores going smoothly, slow-speed internet can’t be afforded in any case.
For this cause, a Broadband network was introduced. It's a high-speed and reliable internet providing actual download speeds of 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of 3 Mbps. Its induction completely revolutionized the way people were conducting business.
Broadband improves communication through the fast flow of information, which saves time and helps you focus better. The good part is that broadband can be delivered via fiber, satellite, wireless, cables, or Digital Subscriber line ( DSL).
However, not everything in the white cube form is sugar. Although broadband is the need of today’s world. Its high cost is a big hurdle in making it accessible to every American.
Reports shared after studying the internet speed, connectivity, and internet prices show that Americans pay the highest prices in today’s world to get access to broadband. A fact sheet by the PEW Charitable trust shows that 30% of the ruler Americans, 40% of the nation’s schools, and 60% of the health care facilities outside the metropolitan areas lack access to high speed.
To overcome this challenge, The Federal Communications Commission launched the Affordable Connectivity Program. Through this program, it was made sure to make broadband affordable for households so they can efficiently manage their work, school, healthcare, and other important aspects
The Program offered a discount of up to $30 per month to the eligible households towards internet services and a discount of up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Additionally, a one-time stipend of up to $100 was also offered to eligible households to purchase laptops, tablets, or desktop computers.
The Eligibility Criteria set for the Affordable Connectivity Program:
All the households whose income was below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines were made eligible for the program. To further relax the rules, they set out the following criteria for one of the housing members to avail of the discount.
If one member of the house has received a federal pell grant during the award year, meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income internet program, and is a participant in assistance programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and Federal Public housing assistance, or Supplemental Security Income, etc.
The criteria for qualifying tribal lands were also set on easy terms and their participation in assistance programs like Tribal TANF, Tribal Head Start, Food Distribution Program was taken under consideration.
The Protection Protocol took by the FCC to Protect Consumers through ACP:
FCC empowered consumers to choose the service plan that they think would best be for fulfilling their needs. They also allowed them to stay on the plan that they may already be on. They further made sure the consumers had access to broadband services without considering their credit status.
To ensure the success rate of the program and help the people get fast internet, they further prohibited the providers from excluding consumers if they had past due balances or prior debt. Through this, they also prevented consumers from being pushed into expensive plans and reduced the bill shock and financial harm.
The best part of ACP is that it let the consumers switch broadband service providers.
The success of the Affordable Connectivity Program- The End of Digital Divide:
The ACP program administered by the FCC was launched in January 2022 and by mid-year, it has over 12 million subscribers. This means the ACP has made 12 million households capable of accessing virtual classrooms, attending meetings, managing their work, communicating with anyone they like, finding information from any corner of the internet, publishing and posting their work, staying active on social media and lead communities through affordable internet for which previously they had to pay high prices or were entirely not connected.
This step by the government has not only let households be civically engaged but also has played an impactful role in changing the way people understand life chores. They also don’t have to think for hours about choosing between broadband providers and subsidizing their expenses to afford the one they like since they can easily get a discount if the broadband provider they like is participating in the ACP.
A look at How the US Government made sure the Affordable Connectivity Program is availed by the Citizens:
The role of the FCC and the White House has to be appreciated in this regard. In order to ensure the ACP's purpose is served, The FCC dedicated infinite hours to working with the external stakeholders and set out rules for accurate implementation of the program. The visibility of the program was provided by the White house.
They encouraged the broadband providers to offer products that can better meet the consumer's connectivity needs. The White House also hosted an event on May 9, 2022, where VP Harris and President Biden himself spoke about the importance of ACP and how they are making sure everyone gets affordable internet.
The new plans from the big broadband providers were also brought to the front and enrollment steps were also discussed. Additionally, availing subsidies on getting broadband services from broadband providers was also brought to the limelight.
Additionally, the Civil society groups although non-government, still left no stone unturned in promoting the program. They put their best foot forward right from the program beginning by first participating in the rulemaking and then promoting it in the best way they could.
These groups also trained digital navigators so they can help consumers and make them understand the signup procedure for the ACP. They also led the digital navigators to help translate the consumer resources to different languages for the purpose of understanding.
Other groups like Asian Americans Advancing Justice, National Urban League, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, National Hispanic Media Coalition, and their affiliate also helped in promoting ACP.
DailyTel Wireless as one of the Broadband Providers of the ACP:
DailyTel Wireless is one of the most rapidly growing telecommunication companies providing high-speed internet services and wireless home phones, cell phones, and internet services throughout the United States. Their services can be availed by both residential and commercial consumers.
Its headquarter is in Palm Beach, Florida, and has built over 500+ connections. Switching to the DailyTel service is not all a hectic process. Just be right with your basic information that includes your name, address, and DB over the phone and you can be one of their consumers.
The good part is that you are not required to do any kind of paperwork to get onboard. The free wireless device, unlimited local and long-distance calls, low bills, and no maintenance charges are the other benefits that you can avail yourself of.
DailyTel is also one of the careers of the ACP, and you can easily get a free tablet, cellphone, Wi-Fi Hotspot per household, Up to 20 GB of free internet per month, and a Free data SIM if you meet the eligibility criteria
Know about your eligibility criteria by simply contacting the DailyTel support team at 1833-999-0427.
The Effect of the Affordable Connectivity Program ( ACP) on the US Economy during COVID 19:
The sudden eruption of COVID 19 had many downsides but it brought with it a digital leap that people were not expecting at all. The COVID 19 period pushed us deeper into a digital world and when we were locked inside our homes, all we had was the internet to the community, work, and order essentials.
In such times, the dependency on the internet increased in an unexpected manner. However, affording high-speed internet services in such times when people’s jobs were at the risk, people could barely think of buying such expensive services. But without it, we could have easily gone to the dark ages.
Luckily, the Affordable Connectivity Program ( ACP) was created in the response to COVID-19. This program came as a replacement for the existing Emergency Broadband Benefit program. ACP held a $65 billion infrastructure investment to get maximum households onboard.
The qualified households for Emergency Broadband Benefit program- EBB is 17,000 whereas ACP is expected to facilitate 100,000 households or greater depending on the effectiveness of the program
Last Thoughts:
Affordable Connectivity Program launched by the Federal Communications Commission was a highly needed program, especially for the people belonging to rural areas to effectively manage their essential activities such as getting an education, healthcare, and work.
ACP is a more permanent program for the locals who in another case would not have been able to afford broadband services. In order to excel in the world, keeping up to date with the digital world and playing our part in it is essential and through ACP, this can be clearly addressed.
As Brut Lum, The Broadband Strategy Officer for the Hawaii Broadband and Digital Equity Office said “
“This new, longer-term program brings us another step towards achieving digital equity in Hawaii and most importantly, has the potential to help thousands of kamaaina residents have access to the digital world.”
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