The Affordable Connectivity Program has ended
If you came here looking for the Affordable Connectivity Program, the short version is that it no longer exists. Congress did not renew the program's money, the monthly internet discounts stopped, and no one can apply. Congress would have to fund the program again for it to come back, and that has not happened. The FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program FAQ at https://www.fcc.gov/affordable-connectivity-program-consumer-faq confirms the closure and answers questions about how the program wound down.
Because so many people still search for this program, scammers have built websites and send messages claiming they can enroll you in it. They cannot. Anyone offering to sign you up for the Affordable Connectivity Program today is after your personal information or a fee.
If you were on the program
Your monthly discount ended when the program did, and there is nothing you owe and nothing to cancel. If you bought a laptop, desktop, or tablet using the program's one-time device discount, the device is yours, and the program closing does not change that.
If your internet bill went up when the discount disappeared, call your provider and ask two questions: whether the company has a low-income plan you can move to, and whether a cheaper plan exists at your address. Providers moved many former program customers onto full-price plans by default, and a lot of those customers qualify for the company's own discount plan without knowing it.
The help that still exists
One federal discount is still running. The Lifeline program takes a set amount off a phone or internet bill each month for households on SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, and similar programs, and the discount can go toward home internet, not just a phone. The guide to telephone assistance programs covers how Lifeline works and how to apply, using the same kind of proof the old program accepted.
Beyond Lifeline, nearly every major internet company runs its own discount plan for lower income customers, a few states have started discount programs of their own, and free options like borrowing a hotspot from the public library exist in most places. The guide to free internet access covers all of it in one place — the company plans, the state programs, and the ways to get online without paying anything.
This page describes the current status of a federal program that has closed. For the help available right now, use the guides linked above and confirm the details with each program directly.
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