Benton Institute for Broadband & Society reports…

Today we are releasing our latest version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Enrollment Performance Tool, which updates data through February 2024. We introduce a new feature in this version—the ACP Risk Score for each zip code included in the tool. This score indicates the degree to which households in a given zip code are at risk of losing or reducing internet connectivity should the ACP benefit lapse. A high score (on a scale of 0 to 100) is a sign that households in that zip code may be more likely to lose internet connectivity than households in areas with a lower score. If a zip code area has a risk score above 70, it stands a good chance of having its households face significant disruption from ACP’s demise. Losing connectivity could mean giving up home internet service completely or choosing between having a wireline or wireless subscription plan.

I checked my own zip code and was a little surprised at the results. I live in St Paul between three private universities. (I was a little surprised that only 88 percent have wireline broadband.) The info Benton provides helps create a localized digital equity plan. Where are the holes? Do you need to work on getting computers to folks? Or multilingual technology training? Would your community benefit from senior tech training? Will people need help paying for broadband when ACP discontinues?