Monday, May 9, 2022

U.S. kicks off Affordable Connectivity Program

The U.S. federal government kicked off  the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which allows tens of millions of American households to reduce or elimiate their Internet service costs based on income. 

Under the terms of the ACP, an eligible household that signs up for the program will receive a discount of up to $30/month on any internet service plan a participating provider offers. Households on Tribal Lands are eligible for a discount of up to $75/month. Mmore than 11.5 million households have already signed up to receive the ACP benefit.

Twenty leading Internet providers — covering more than 80% of the U.S. population across urban, suburban, and rural areas — have commited to either increase speeds or cut prices for ACP-eligible households.

In addition, the Biden Administration asked providers to offer such plans with no fees and no data caps.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/?utm_source=www.getinternet.gov

https://www.affordableconnectivity.gov/

U.S. Infrastructure bill directs $65 billion for broadband and middle mile

The U.S. House of Representative passed and President Biden signed the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, which includes $65 billion to expand high-speed broadband across the country.The funding will be directed at areas that are unserved or underserved in broadband availability. Grants will also be available for connectivity projects in tribal areas, and for enabling middle mile broadband infrastructure."Unserved" is currently defined...