1、 itif.org A Blueprint for Broadband Affordability JOE KANE|JANUARY 2025 Congress should create a more targeted and durable Affordable Connectivity Program by aligning funding priorities with the remaining causes of the digital divide.By prioritizing affordability rather than deployment,the new progr

2、am can connect low-income households without new federal spending.KEY TAKEAWAYS Ongoing private and federal investments combined with new technologies such as ubiquitous low earth orbit satellite coverage have made universal broadband deployment a reality.Lack of deployment is no longer a cause of t

3、he digital divide.One major cause of the digital divide is lack of affordability,and funding priorities should shift from deployment to a targeted affordability program.The renewed program should be a more targeted version of the erstwhile Affordable Connectivity Program(ACP),keeping the central str

4、ucture while incorporating reforms to address reasonable objections to the old program.New ACP should provide a benefit of$30 per month to households at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty level or in their first three months of unemployment insurance.Sunsetting deployment and other redundan

5、t programs would provide more than enough savings to fund this New ACP without new federal funding.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY&INNOVATION FOUNDATION|JANUARY 2025 PAGE 2 CONTENTS Key Takeaways.1 Introduction.2 Lack of Broadband Adoption Is the Leading Cause of the Digital Divide.3 Affordability Defined.4

6、Looking Back at the Affordable Connectivity Program.5 Was ACP Eligibility Too Broad?.5 Should ACP Be Open Only to First-Time Subscribers?.6 Does ACP Increase Broadband Prices for Nonrecipients?.6 A Blueprint for Broadband Affordability.7 Eligibility.7 Benefit Amount.7 Estimated Cost.8 Paying for the