Submitted by Steven Watson, Forest County Digital Navigator

Internet access is quickly becoming a necessary utility and just like power and gas it’s another bill that piles up every month. But what if that pile didn’t need to be quite so high? 

Communities like ours that need assistance getting access to the internet can save $30-$75 on our internet bills using the Affordable Connectivity Program! 

What is the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The Affordable Connectivity Program is designed to help households pay for internet service and it’s run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

It provides the following benefits:

• Up to a $30 per month discount on your households internet service
• Up to a $75 per month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands
• Participating providers also offer a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer with a small co-payment (between $10 and $50)
• Some providers also low cost service plan that may be fully covered through the ACP

How to qualify

There are two primary ways to qualify for the program. 

Income is one of the qualifiers for the Affordable Connectivity Program. You’re eligible if the household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For example, if you’re a family of two that makes less than $39,440 or a family of four making less than $60,000 you qualify!

OR!

If a member of your household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Participates in one of these assistance programs:
  • Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools*. 
  • WIC, SNAP, or Medicaid
  • Federal Housing Assistance
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits
  • Lifeline, another internet affordability program (you can use both!)
• Participates in one of these assistance programs and lives on Qualifying Tribal lands:
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance 
  • Tribal TANF
  • Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
  • Tribal Head Start (income based)
• Federal Pell Grant recipient
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income internet program.

*Crandon, Laona, and Wabeno are all Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools, which means if you are a parent to a student in one of these districts you qualify for the program.

Okay, I’m eligible, now what?

Great question! You can apply online for your benefit at www.affordableconnectivity.gov

It’s a short application which requires some personal information and supporting documents uploaded to the site. The website has a guide for what documents you’ll need depending on how you qualify for the program, your county’s Digital Navigator can assist you as well.

You’ll be given an application ID number. Once you’re approved you can call your internet service provider and give them this number and they can use it to apply your benefit! Generally, it takes 1-2 billing cycles for your credit to show up and some providers may require you to sign some additional paperwork. Other than that you can sit back and watch your monthly bill go down!

In rare cases certain types of eligibility will require you to recertify every year. Most often this process happens on its own. You should receive notification from the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) if this applies to you. 

Need help with your application?

Good news! Your county’s Digital Navigator can help you!

Steve Watson – Forest County Digital Navigator

steve.watson@co.forest.wi.us

715-478-7793 Office

715-784-1415 Mobile

Drop-in hours at the Courthouse are Monday & Thursday from Noon-4:30pm

Additional hours available by appointment.

You can also reach the ACP support center at (877) 384-2575

Learn more about the programs and services of UW-Madison Division of Extension Forest County at https://forest.extension.wisc.edu or call 715.478-7797.