Key Takeaways:
· One reason why one-fifth of U.S. households are not online is because of concerns about cost and affordability.
· Yet only 17 million households, representing an estimated 35% of eligible of householdsi, have signed up for the Affordable Connectivity Program.
· AT&T and the Public Library Association (PLA) have launched a free online course that provides an in-depth overview of the Affordable Connectivity Program to educate parents, caregivers and families.
What’s the news? AT&T and the Public Library Association (PLA) have launched a free self-paced online course to educate parents, caregivers and families about the federal broadband benefits available to qualifying households for discounted internet service from participating providers.
To help bridge the digital divide, AT&T and PLA collaborated to develop the easily accessible and relatable course that provides an in-depth overview of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), documents needed to apply, the process of applying, and how to use the benefit, if eligible.
Why is this important?
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) found that one reason why one-fifth of U.S. households are not online is because of concerns about cost and affordability. Yet only 17 million households, representing an estimated 35% of eligible of householdsii, have signed up for ACP to receive up to $30/mo. off their internet or wireless service, or up to $75/mo. if living on qualifying Tribal lands.
According to research done by the Benton Institute, households located in communities with a public library enroll in ACP at a higher rate than communities that do not. That’s why AT&T and PLA are also working together to bring in-person ACP workshops to public libraries. With support from AT&T, public libraries across the country now have access to workshop materials through DigitalLearn, as well as incentives for libraries to host ACP and…
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