The Biden administration, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress have created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households $30 per month off their Internet bills.

The government has secured commitments from 20 leading Internet providers to offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed Internet plan for no more than $30 per month, meaning that eligible families who pair their ACP benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed Internet for free.

The plans offer a minimum of 100 Mbps download speed, which is fast enough for a typical family of four to video conference, stream movies or TV and more.

There are three different ways to qualify for the ACP benefit:

• Your income is at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For a single person, that is $27,180 per year; for a two-member household, $36,620 per year; a three-member household, $46,060 per year and so on. A full list can be obtained through a simple Google search.
• You or someone in your household participates in a government assistance program like food stamps, Medicaid, supplemental security income, federal housing assistance and more.
• You meet the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income Internet program.

Find our more at www.affordableconnectivity.gov/do-i-qualify/

How to sign up for the affordable connectivity program

Step 1: Claim your Affordable Connectivity Program Benefit.

Applicants can sign up through their participation in other government programs or based on their annual household income. 

An application can be sent in by mail or through their existing Internet service provider if it participates in the program. Participating companies may ask you to apply through their company’s own application process.

Find out more at www.affordableconnectivity.gov

Step 2: Contact a participating Internet service provider to choose an Internet plan.

Once your application is approved, contact a participating Internet service provider to choose a plan and apply your benefit to that plan.

More information on how to apply can be found at acpbenefit.org/how-to-apply/ or by calling (877) 384-2575.

There are several participating Internet service providers in Michigan, including AT&T, Comcast and WOW

You can also choose to apply your ACP benefit to a different provider. More than 1,300 providers accept the ACP benefit. To find one near you, visit acpbenefit.org/companies-near-me/.

ACP-eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from certain participating providers, with a small copay.