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You could be eligible for a $30/month credit towards your internet bill AND a $100 credit towards a digital device!

Jun 15, 2023

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Week of Action is June 14-June 22, where organizations around the U.S. are working to spread the word about this federal benefit. The ACP benefit aims to help all households get online. Although this benefit has been available since the end of 2021, only 35% of eligible households have enrolled simply because most qualifying households are not aware of the program. That percentage is even lower in the state of Pennsylvania, with only 29% of eligible households enrolled in ACP as of April 2023. Read on to learn more about the ACP and how you can help us get the word out to qualifying households!

What is the ACP?

The ACP is a federal program that provides a $30/month credit ($75/month for households living on qualifying Tribal lands) towards your internet bill for eligible households. The ACP also provides a one-time credit of $100 towards a device like a laptop or cell phone.

How to Qualify for the ACP

There are two main ways to determine if a household is eligible for the ACP benefit–by their income or by their participation in another federal benefit program.

Households qualify for the ACP if:

Their household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines OR
One member of the household participates in at least one of the following:
SNAP
WIC
Medicaid
Free or Reduced School Lunch
Federal Public Housing Assistance
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Veterans Pension
Lifeline Benefit
Federal Pell Grant (in current award year)

How to Enroll in the ACP

Enrollment in the ACP is a two-step process:

The first requires households to verify their eligibility through the National Verifier system. Consumers can go to GetInternet.gov and input their identification information and upload any necessary documents to show that they meet the income requirement OR participate in one of the above federal programs. The easiest and quickest way to get verified is to provide the last four digits of one’s Social Security Number and check off that they participate in SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid, as this will fast-track them through the system as their information is already in the federal database.

Once a consumer’s eligibility is verified, they will receive an application ID that can then be used with their internet service provider and applied to their account. This can be done online if the consumer has an online account with their internet provider, or it can be done over the phone.

Search participating internet service providers by location

How You Can Help Spread the Word

If you are a direct service provider, nonprofit organization, government entity, or simply someone who may know or work with folks who could use this benefit, there are a few ways to help:

Educate yourself or your organization on the ACP

A number of great, free resources exist to learn more about the ACP and the enrollment process. We recommend Education Superhighway’s library of resources on the benefit and their free LearnACP module, which is an online certification course that takes you step-by-step through the enrollment process to help assist others.
Invite a representative from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to give a presentation on the ACP to your organization.

Do ACP outreach

The FCC has free, printable collateral all about the ACP that you can download and send to a distribution list, include in mailers, or pass out at events.

Neighborhood Allies has also created flyers that consolidate much of this information – reach out to us at digitalinclusion@neighborhoodallies.org if you are interested in this material.

Join the Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance ACP Working Group

The Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance is a coalition of representatives from over 20 organizations in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County working towards digital equity. The Digital Inclusion & Innovation team at Neighborhood Allies leads the bi-weekly ACP Working Group to help brainstorm and consolidate efforts on ACP outreach and enrollment. Please email gpdia2022@gmail.com if you are interested in joining!

Share this blog post and our social media posts to your platforms

As part of the ACP Week of Action, Neighborhood Allies has posted on our Instagram as part of the #OnlineForAll campaign.

We are also assisting eligible households with enrolling in the ACP. If you know someone who needs assistance with enrollment, please have them contact digitalinclusion@neighborhoodallies.org or call (412) 525-7405.

If you are interested in learning more about our digital inclusion work, please visit BeyondTheLaptops.org.