Building More Connected Communities With Verizon And Civic Nation

Today marks the start of National Digital Inclusion Week. Each year, digital equity champions promote initiatives that drive broadband adoption and advance participation in the digital economy. This week, Civic Nation and Verizon will promote awareness about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and work collectively to close the digital divide.

The ACP, a $14 billion appropriation from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is a federal benefit program that provides discounted internet service for eligible customers. More than 21 million households across the nation have already signed up for the ACP. This program helps ensure that millions of Americans with low incomes can afford broadband service. Specifically, the benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households, or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands – and a one-time discount of up to $100 towards a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet. The ACP helps Americans get online and connect to the digital economy, remote work, virtual church services, education courses, telehealth appointments and more.

Civic Nation and Verizon are working together to build stronger and more connected communities. We understand the importance of educating families, students, seniors, and veterans nationwide about the ACP. That’s why Civic Nation and the Administration launched the Online for All campaign earlier this summer, and Verizon joined forces as a national campaign partner. We’re engaging digital navigators and community organizations to drive ACP awareness and help close the digital divide for good. We are excited that the campaign has already reached over one million Americans.

We know that access to affordable broadband improves economic outcomes not just for ACP participants, but for the nation as a whole. Specifically, closing the digital divide can deliver the following benefits:

Increase economic mobility. More than 90% of jobs require a certain level of digital proficiency, and workers with digital skills earn 23% more than workers hired for jobs not requiring digital skills.

Improve educational opportunities. Currently, 24% of low-income teens say they struggle to complete homework without reliable computer or internet access. Higher broadband adoption rates can help to close these gaps and have been shown to increase standardized test scores.

Improve access to telemedicine resources, especially for veterans. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, veterans access telemedicine resources more than 40,000 times a day, but a large percentage of veterans can’t access these services due to lack of internet access. According to the FCC, 15% of veteran households do not have an internet connection. Veterans who receive a qualifying pension, including a survivor benefit, are eligible to participate in the ACP.

We applaud Congress for establishing the ACP, which has become vital to tens of millions of American households nationwide. Unfortunately, ACP funding may run out as soon as the Spring of 2024 according to experts. We encourage Congress to commit to continued funding of the ACP, so households across the country who have gotten connected can continue to participate in the digital economy. Congress should also consider developing long-term reforms to current universal service programs to improve efficiency and avoid duplication.

Verizon fully supports the ACP and provides qualifying wireless and wireline broadband service offerings nationwide. ACP-eligible households can receive free TracFone or Verizon Prepaid services, or free home internet service through Verizon Forward – a program that provides ACP-qualified customers with Verizon LTE Home, 5G Home or Verizon Fios service.