DENVER – February 22, 2022 – Lt. Governor Primavera today announced a statewide initiative to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a long-term benefit to help eligible households pay for high-speed internet.
The ACP is a $14.2 billion federal broadband benefit funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that provides eligible households with a monthly discount of up to $30 per month (up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands) and a one-time $100 discount toward a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. Over 792,000 Colorado households are eligible for the ACP, while only 23% of those eligible have enrolled.
The Colorado ACP Act Now initiative unites a broad coalition of 71 partner cities, community-based organizations and trusted institutions in partnership with EducationSuperHighway (ESH), the national non-profit with a mission to close the broadband affordability gap.
Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera; Evan Marwell, Founder & CEO, EducationSuperHighway and Mark Colwell, Colorado Broadband Office Launch ACP Act Now: Colorado
The coalition of partners will have access to resources to help them overcome the complex awareness, trust, and enrollment barriers that prevent households in the nation’s most under-resourced communities from enrolling. Resources include email marketing templates, social media campaigns and a pre-enrollment tool, getacp.org/colorado. Local community leaders can use these resources to get the word out about the ACP and help eligible families enroll.
“Reliable internet access is essential for daily life, especially for education, healthcare, connecting with loved ones, and accessing government services,” said Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera. “Our administration is committed to connecting over 99% of Coloradans to affordable, high-speed broadband in the next five years, no matter where you live in our great state.“
ACP-eligible households include families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and those who qualify for Lifeline, SNAP, Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch, WIC, and other government-funded programs. The new initiative will leverage state channels to directly promote the ACP to households in these programs and unite local governments, community-based organizations, and trusted institutions to reach unconnected households.
EducationSuperHighway will support statewide awareness efforts by training community leaders and partner organizations and providing outreach materials and tools to help households enroll. The non-profit recently launched GetACP.org/Colorado, a virtual mobile assistant that simplifies the ACP enrollment process by providing real-time support to help eligible households determine the easiest way to qualify. The mobile website is available in four languages and helps applicants overcome critical barriers in the enrollment process by helping them identify the documents needed when applying and find “free with ACP” broadband plans available in their area.
Combined with commitments by Internet Service Providers to deliver high-speed internet plans for no more than $30 per month, eligible households can receive high-speed internet at no cost by pairing their ACP benefit with one of these “free with ACP” broadband plans.
“The Affordable Connectivity Program can bring high-speed home internet to millions of unconnected households. Colorado is leading the way in accelerating adoption by ensuring eligible households know about the program, can easily enroll, and then sign up for high-speed internet service,” said Evan Marwell, CEO of EducationSuperHighway. “We applaud the Polis-Primavera administration’s bold leadership in removing the barriers that keep millions unconnected.”
ALL 71 ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN THE INITIATIVE
| Adams County School District 14 |
| Alamosa Public Library |
| AlignTec |
| Archdiocesan Housing |
| Basalt Regional Library |
| Beulahland Communications |
| Bridging Digital Divides |
| Broomfield Public Library |
| Brush School District |
| Burlington School District |
| City and County of Broomfield |
| City of Arvada |
| City of Aurora |
| City of Castle Pines |
| City of Greeley |
| Clearnetworx, LLC |
| CoCreate, LLC |
| Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind |
| Colorado Community Action Association |
| Colorado Mountain College |
| Colorado State University System |
| Comcast |
| Community College of Aurora |
| Community Computer Connection – C3 |
| Concorde Career College |
| Connected Communities |
| Denver Mayor’s Office of Social Equity and Innovation |
| Denver Regional Council of Governments |
| DISH Wireless |
| e-luminosity |
| Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Association |
| Force Broadband |
| Fort Collins Connexion |
| Fort Lewis College |
| Immigrant and Refugee Center of Northern Colorado |
| Jewish Family Service of Colorado |
| La Plata County |
| Larimer County |
| Lincoln County Bookmobile |
| Littleton Public Schools |
| Live Wire Networks |
| Lone Cone Library |
| Loveland Public Library |
| Loveland Pulse |
| Lyons Communications |
| Naropa University |
| Nucla-Naturita Telephone Company |
| Nunn Telephone Company |
| Pathfinder Broadband |
| PCTelcom |
| Pine River Library |
| Plains Cooperative Telephone |
| Range Telephone Cooperative |
| Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design |
| San Luis Valley Broadband Coordination Office |
| SECOM |
| Starry Internet |
| Teach by Tech |
| Telluride School District |
| Town of Breckenridge |
| Town of Eagle |
| Town of Ordway |
| Town of Red Cliff |
| Tri-Lakes Cares |
| University of Northern Colorado |
| Upper Pine River Fire Protection District |
| Ute Mountain Communication Enterprise |
| Visionary Communications |
| Vistabeam |
| West Custer County Library District |
| Westminster Public Library |
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