About the Affordable Connectivity Program
In 2021, Congress established the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, appropriating $14.2 billion. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was tasked to develop and implement the ACP as well as ACP outreach and awareness activities.
As of January 2024, over 22 million households are enrolled and receiving the ACP monthly benefit. For more general information about the ACP, visit GetInternet.gov.
What’s happening?
Without additional funding from Congress, the allotted $14.2 billion to fund the ACP is projected to run out in April 2024 (this date is an estimate and may change). As a result, the FCC has begun taking steps to wind down the ACP, which means:
- ACP applications and enrollments will not be processed after February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET.
- Households who have applied, been approved, and are receiving the monthly internet discount before February 8, 2024 will continue to receive their ACP benefit until ACP funds run out, as long as the household remains enrolled in the program.
- After the ACP funds run out (projected in April 2024), households participating in the ACP will no longer receive the ACP discounts.
What does this mean for low-income households not in the ACP?
- Because of the wind down of the program, the ACP will need to stop new enrollments. Starting February 8, 2024, no new enrollments will be accepted.
- Eligible households that are not already enrolled and who wish to receive the ACP benefit should complete an application at GetInternet.gov as soon as possible to allow time for the processing of your application. Once your application is qualified, you must sign up with an internet company by February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET to start receiving your benefit.
- If you qualified for the ACP but you did not sign up with an internet company before February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET, then you can no longer enroll in the ACP.
All households enrolled in the ACP will continue to receive the benefit on their internet service until ACP funding, which is currently projected through April 2024, runs out.
Eligible households who wish to receive the ACP benefit but have not yet applied for the program should submit a completed ACP application as soon as possible to allow time for processing so that an eligibility determination can be made and the eligible household can sign up with an internet company by February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. To reiterate – during this program wind-down period, households must BOTH submit their application on a timely basis in order to be approved AND if qualified sign up with an ACP-eligible internet company by February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET.
During the ACP wind-down period, ACP households will receive notices from their internet company about the impact of the end of the benefit on the household’s bill and service. The notices will include:
- that the ACP is ending,
- the impact on their bill,
- the date of the last bill they will receive that includes the ACP benefit, and
- that they may change their service or opt-out of continuing service after the end of the ACP
ACP households will also receive notices from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the administrator of the ACP. ACP households may also switch their internet plans without penalty.
The ACP Wind-Down Frequently Asked Questions can also be found here:
Important Dates
- February 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET: This is the last day that the ACP will accept new applications and enrollments. Eligible households must be approved and enrolled with an internet company by 11:59 PM ET on February 7th to receive the ACP benefit until the program ends. Starting February 8, 2024, there will be no more enrollments into the ACP.
- April 2024: The timeframe the FCC anticipates ACP funding will run out if Congress does not provide additional funding. Currently, the FCC expects consumers that are enrolled in the ACP to continue to receive their full benefit on their internet service through at least April 2024.
For more information and further updates, visit: