$75 Monthly ISP FCC Subsidies Coming To Low Income Areas

The FCC is expanding the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to provide $75 monthly subsidies to low-income areas. The money is designed to provide internet access for those who could not otherwise afford it.

Thanks to Ars Technica, we learned about the new benefits that are being added to the two-year-old program. Initially, the ACP provided “eligible” households with $30 stipends and $75 to “households on qualifying Tribal lands.”

The FCC adopted the update on August 3rd, wherein the order will do the following:

• Adopts rules to implement the up-to-$75 monthly ACP benefit in high-cost areas, as defined by NTIA and as required by the Infrastructure Act.
• Defines “particularized economic hardship” and establishes the showing that ACP providers must make to demonstrate they are experiencing a particularized economic hardship in a high-cost area.
• Sets the processes for reviewing and making determinations on providers’ economic hardship submissions, and appealing those determinations.
• Creates a requirement for providers that are approved to offer the high-cost area benefit to annually resubmit an economic hardship showing to continue offering the high-cost area benefit.
• Outlines the steps providers must take to provide advance notice and a transition path for ACP consumers if the provider no longer qualifies to offer the high-cost area benefit.

Currently, the ACP’s original prerequisite does not appear to have changed. To be eligible for the monthly discount, households not on Tribal lands will need to meet the following criteria:

• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income internet program;
• Participates in one of these assistance programs:
  • Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools.
  • SNAP
  • Medicaid
  • Federal Housing Assistance, including:
    • Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (Section 8 Vouchers)
    • Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)/Section 202/ Section 811
    • Public Housing
    • Affordable Housing Programs for American Indians, Alaska Natives or Native Hawaiians
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • WIC
  • Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits
  • or Lifeline