Diversity Equity Inclusion

The digital divide has typically been described as the separation of those who can afford and benefit from the internet and digital technologies and those who do not. Digital equity is the status of all people, particularly racially and financially marginalized groups, having the information and communications technology needed to fully participate in modern society. Digital inclusion is the practices of realizing and addressing these inadequacies. 

According to the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, there are 5 elements to digital inclusion:

• affordable, robust broadband internet services
• internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user
• access to digital literacy training
• quality technical support
• applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a permanent FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more.

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; or
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income program.

Emergency Broadband Benefit recipients fully enrolled as of December 31, 2021 will automatically continue to receive their current monthly benefit until March 1, 2022. You can learn more the program transition and steps you may need to take to stay enrolled after March 1st, by visiting fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.

Two Steps to Enroll

Apply Now

1. Go to ACPBenefit.org to submit an application or print out a mail-in application.
2. Contact your preferred participating provider to select a plan and have the discount applied to your bill.

Some providers may have an alternative application that they will ask you to complete.

Eligible households must both apply for the program and contact a participating provider to select a service plan.

Find Lifeline and ACP providers in your zip code

Consumer FAQ

Lookup Participating Providers

Consumer Outreach Toolkit

• Coverage Maps 

• NYS Lifeline Phone Program 

Digital Navigators are people trained to address digital inequity issues. They help individual community members with accessing internet connectivity at home, obtaining affordable devices, and developing digital skills.