Internet cables (Peninsula Clarion file)

Internet cables (Peninsula Clarion file)

Opinion: Why Alaska needs the Affordable Connectivity Program

The ACP helps households that need internet access for work, school, health care, and other essential activities

  • By Jim Steele
  • Thursday, October 5, 2023 9:49pm
  • Opinion

Alaska is a vast and beautiful state, but also one of the most isolated and underserved in terms of broadband access. According to the FCC, only 65% of Alaskans have access to broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps, compared to 94% of Americans nationwide. This digital divide has serious consequences for Alaskans’ education, health, economy and quality of life.

Created by the federal government as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a $14.2 billion expansion of the federal Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program whose broadband benefits have touched more than 6 million households nationwide — including 20,000 households in Alaska in the past 17 months.

The ACP helps households that need internet access for work, school, health care, and other essential activities. The program is especially important for rural areas, where broadband access is often limited or expensive. Benefits include internet subscription vouchers which, when combined with the low-income offerings made available by many of the nation’s leading providers that participate in the program, can completely offset broadband subscription costs, making them free for qualifying low-income families.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

But the ACP faces existential threat that could eliminate internet access for the over 18 million American households that rely on the program — its funding will run out sometime in 2024. The risk of losing the ACP in rural areas would be detrimental to the digital inclusion and economic development of these and those Alaskan communities on the losing side of the digital divide. Without affordable broadband, these households will have less opportunities for education, employment, telehealth, and civic engagement.

The ACP is a vital lifeline for rural Alaska that should not only be preserved, but expanded.

Jim Steele is a former CIO and Deputy CIO for the State of Alaska with over 30 years of experience in Information Technology leadership. He lives in Anchorage.

More in Opinion

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in