The ACP Has Ended — What Happened and What Replaced It (2026)
Quick answer
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) stopped issuing benefits on June 1, 2024. It ended because Congress did not appropriate more money — not because it failed or was cancelled for cause. More than 23 million households lost the discount. Bills to revive it have been introduced with bipartisan support, but none has passed as of 2026. The active federal program today is Lifeline, which provides a smaller monthly discount of $9.25 ($34.25 on qualifying Tribal lands).
If you landed here because a website told you to “apply for ACP”, that site is out of date. Nothing is being paid out under the ACP, and no application can change that. What follows is the full story — and what you can actually do instead.
What the ACP was
The Affordable Connectivity Program was a federal benefit that lowered the cost of home internet and mobile broadband for low-income households. At its peak it was the largest broadband affordability program in United States history.
It existed to address what policymakers call the digital divide: the gap between households that can afford reliable internet and those that cannot. That gap stopped being an abstraction in 2020. When schools moved to remote learning, medical appointments moved to video, and job applications moved entirely online, a household without a connection was cut off from education, healthcare, and work at the same time.
The ACP was Congress’s attempt to close that gap at national scale.
How it started: from emergency measure to standing program
The ACP did not appear from nothing. It grew out of a pandemic emergency measure.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit (2020–2021)
In December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act established a $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund. The FCC used it to launch the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which opened to consumers on May 12, 2021.
The EBB was explicitly temporary — a response to a public health emergency. It offered up to $50 per month off broadband service, and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Uptake was rapid, and it demonstrated something policymakers had debated for years: when you remove the cost barrier, low-income households connect.
The Infrastructure Act turns it permanent
On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law. Among many other things, it allocated $14.2 billion to convert the temporary EBB into a longer-term program: the Affordable Connectivity Program.
The ACP formally replaced the EBB on December 31, 2021. The monthly benefit was reduced from $50 to $30 — a deliberate trade, accepting a smaller per-household discount in exchange for reaching far more households over a longer period.
That $14.2 billion figure matters enormously to the rest of this story. It was a fixed appropriation, not a renewable funding stream. The program had a budget, and budgets run out.
What the ACP actually provided
| Benefit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly discount on internet service | Up to $30 per month |
| Monthly discount, qualifying Tribal lands | Up to $75 per month |
| One-time device discount | Up to $100 toward a laptop, tablet, or desktop |
| Device copay required | More than $10 and less than $50 |
| Limit | One monthly discount and one device discount per household |
The device discount is worth understanding, because it is the source of most of the confusion still circulating online. The ACP could contribute up to $100 toward a computer or tablet purchased through a participating provider, and the household had to pay something toward it — more than $10 but less than $50.
It was never a free-phone program. Some wireless carriers layered their own handset offers on top of the ACP service discount as a marketing decision, which is how “free ACP phone” and “free ACP iPhone” entered circulation. The device was the carrier’s choice, funded by the carrier. The government subsidised the service.
Who qualified, and how the process worked
Eligibility ran on two routes, which will look familiar if you have read about Lifeline eligibility.
Route one — household income. A household qualified if its income was at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. That was a notably wider gate than Lifeline’s 135% threshold, and it is a large part of why ACP enrollment so dramatically exceeded Lifeline’s.
Route two — program participation. A household qualified automatically if anyone in it participated in SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance, a Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension, the Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch program, a Federal Pell Grant in the current award year, or various Tribal-specific programs.
The application process ran through the National Verifier, the federal eligibility system operated by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) — the same system Lifeline uses today. An applicant submitted identity and eligibility information, received a determination (often instant, sometimes requiring document upload and manual review), then selected a participating internet or wireless provider and applied the benefit to their account.
Applying was always free. It still is, for Lifeline.
How many people it helped
More than 23 million households were enrolled when the program ended. To put that in perspective, that is roughly one in six households in the United States.
The enrollment breadth is worth dwelling on, because it explains why the shutdown was so consequential. ACP households were not a narrow demographic. They included:
- Seniors on fixed incomes, one of the largest enrolled groups
- Households with school-age children relying on the connection for homework
- Veterans and military families
- Rural households where a single provider set the price
- Households on Tribal lands, who received the enhanced $75 benefit
For a meaningful share of these households, the $30 monthly discount was the difference between having a broadband connection and not having one. Survey work conducted during the program’s life consistently found that a large fraction of enrollees reported they either had no service before the ACP or would have to drop service without it.
Why the ACP ended
The money ran out. That is the whole reason.
This is the part most coverage gets wrong or leaves vague, so it is worth stating plainly: the ACP was not cancelled for fraud, it was not struck down in court, and it was not repealed because it failed. It was a fixed $14.2 billion appropriation that was spent.
Consider the arithmetic. With more than 23 million households receiving up to $30 per month, the program was distributing on the order of $600 million every month at its peak. Against a $14.2 billion appropriation, exhaustion was not a surprise — it was a scheduled event that everyone administering the program could see coming.
The FCC began publicly warning Congress about the funding cliff well over a year in advance. Reauthorisation required Congress to appropriate new money, and despite bipartisan support for the concept, it did not happen. The extension bills became entangled in broader budget disputes and never received floor votes before the money ran out.
So the honest framing is this: the ACP ended on schedule, from a funding standpoint. What did not happen was the refill.
The wind-down: exact timeline
The shutdown was staged over roughly four months.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early 2024 | FCC publicly announces the program will exhaust funding and begins wind-down procedures |
| February 7, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET | Enrollment freeze. New applications and enrollments stop. Households had to be approved and enrolled with a provider by this deadline |
| February–April 2024 | Existing enrollees continue receiving the full benefit. Providers issue required consumer notices about the coming end |
| April 2024 | Last month of the full discount. The final month any household received the complete $30 (or $75 Tribal) benefit |
| May 2024 | Partial benefit month. Remaining funds were prorated, producing a reduced discount — commonly around $14 rather than $30 |
| June 1, 2024 | Program ends. No further ACP discounts issued. All 23 million enrolled households return to full price |
Providers were required to notify enrolled customers before the benefit ended, though the quality of those notices varied considerably. A significant number of households discovered the change when their bill arrived.
What happened to those households
Outcomes split roughly three ways. Some households absorbed the cost and kept their service, cutting elsewhere in the budget. Some downgraded to slower or more limited plans. And some disconnected entirely.
Providers introduced their own low-income offerings in response, and several existing programs — Comcast’s Internet Essentials, Charter’s Spectrum Internet Assist, Cox Connect2Compete, AT&T Access, and similar — absorbed some of the displaced demand. These are real options and worth investigating, but they are corporate programs with their own eligibility rules, availability footprints, and no federal guarantee behind them. They are not a systematic replacement.
Congressional Research Service analysis of the program’s end noted plainly that no single alternative replaces the ACP’s scale.
Is the ACP coming back?
Not as of 2026. It is possible, but it has not happened — and you should not plan around it.
Legislation exists. The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024 was introduced in both chambers — S.3565 in the Senate and H.R.6929 in the House. It proposed $7 billion to continue the program, and attracted genuine bipartisan cosponsorship.
It did not pass. The bills stalled. Neither received a floor vote before funding ran out, and both died with the end of the 118th Congress.
Efforts continued into the 119th Congress. Members have pushed to attach ACP restoration to larger spending and telecommunications packages rather than pursue it as standalone legislation, which is generally a more realistic path for an appropriation of this size. Advocacy from the Benton Institute, the National Association of Counties, and similar organisations has continued.
As of 2026, Congress has not approved new funding. No restored program, no new enrollment, no payments.
How to read the odds honestly
Arguments that it could return: the policy retains bipartisan support, the digital divide has not gone away, and broadband affordability keeps resurfacing in telecommunications packages.
Arguments against counting on it: the program has now been dormant for over two years, the administrative infrastructure for a re-launch would take time to restart even after a bill passed, and appropriations of this size compete against everything else in a constrained budget.
Practical advice: if you need connectivity assistance now, apply for Lifeline now. Do not wait for the ACP. If it returns, you can enrol then — and being an existing Lifeline subscriber would not have hurt you.
What federal program is active now
Lifeline
Lifeline is the active federal connectivity benefit. It is older than both the EBB and the ACP — it dates to 1985 — and unlike them it is funded through the Universal Service Fund rather than a one-time congressional appropriation. That funding structure is precisely why it survived when the ACP did not.
What it provides:
- $9.25 per month off phone service, internet service, or a bundle
- Up to $34.25 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands
- One benefit per household
- Some participating providers include a free handset — a carrier decision, not a federal one
Who qualifies — one of two routes:
Income route: household income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For 2026 in the 48 contiguous states, that is $21,546 for a single-person household and $44,550 for a household of four, with roughly $7,668 added per additional person. Alaska and Hawaii use higher thresholds. See our 2026 income limits table.
Program route: participation in SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, a Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension, Federal Public Housing Assistance, or qualifying Tribal programs.
How to apply: through the same National Verifier system at CheckLifeline.org. It is free. We walk through every screen in our step-by-step application guide.
Lifeline compared to the ACP
| ACP (ended) | Lifeline (active) | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly benefit | Up to $30 | $9.25 |
| Tribal lands benefit | Up to $75 | Up to $34.25 |
| Device discount | Up to $100 toward a computer or tablet | None federally; some carriers offer handsets |
| Income threshold | 200% of FPG | 135% of FPG |
| Funding source | One-time $14.2B appropriation | Universal Service Fund (ongoing) |
| Status | Ended June 1, 2024 | Active |
The gap is substantial and there is no point pretending otherwise. Lifeline is roughly a third of the ACP’s monthly value on a narrower eligibility gate. It is what exists. Read the full side-by-side comparison.
Other options worth checking
- Provider low-income programs — Internet Essentials, Spectrum Internet Assist, Cox Connect2Compete, AT&T Access and similar. Eligibility and availability vary by address.
- State-level programs — a handful of states run their own broadband subsidies. Check your state’s public utility commission or broadband office.
- E-Rate and library access — schools and public libraries remain a connectivity resource, and many libraries lend hotspots.
- Tribal programs — households on Tribal lands should check enhanced Lifeline support and Tribal broadband initiatives.
What to do right now
- Stop looking for ACP applications. No form will enrol you. Any site charging a fee to “process your ACP application” is running a scam — report it to the FCC or FTC.
- Check your Lifeline eligibility. If you qualified for the ACP through a program like SNAP, Medicaid, or SSI, you almost certainly qualify for Lifeline too. The income route is stricter, so income-qualified ACP households should check the 135% table specifically.
- Apply free through the National Verifier at CheckLifeline.org.
- Ask your current provider about their own assistance program. Many introduced or expanded these after the ACP ended and do not advertise them prominently.
- Recertify annually. Lifeline requires you to confirm eligibility every 12 months or the benefit lapses.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
All program facts on this page come from primary federal sources, verified August 2026.
- FCC — Affordable Connectivity Program Consumer FAQ
- FCC — ACP Has Ended For Now, Consumer Fact Sheet
- FCC — ACP Wind-Down Frequently Asked Questions
- FCC — The Affordable Connectivity Program: Looking Back and Ahead
- FCC — Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
- USAC — Affordable Connectivity Program
- USAC — Lifeline Consumer Eligibility
- Congressional Research Service — The End of the Affordable Connectivity Program
- Congress.gov — S.3565, ACP Extension Act of 2024
- Congress.gov — H.R.6929, ACP Extension Act of 2024
Page last verified: August 2026. Legislative status changes — we re-check this page quarterly. Found an error? Tell us and we will log the correction publicly on our corrections page.
freegovernmentiphones.org is an independent informational website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the FCC, USAC, the Lifeline program, or any government agency. We do not process applications or distribute devices. Applying is always free at CheckLifeline.org.
