Public Awareness Resources
Find out how to promote the programs and services available to the public to access affordable internet and advocate for broadband service.
This section is for county staff who want to implement a public awareness campaign to highlight the different programs for residents to report internet access issues, sign up for affordable internet, and a plan for how to inform the public on how the county is working on broadband.
Broadband Town Hall Toolkit
Suggested Agenda
Welcome and Overview: The convener of the meeting (board chair or county commissioner championing this efforts opens up the meeting with the objective for the meeting and a brief overview of the agenda.
Data Overview: Suggestion to invite NCDIT to come and do an overview of the data, NCACC Policy person or ask a county expert to present data. Data to present can include:
- Broadband coverage; device availability in your county/ compared to region.
Current Broadband Plan: This is for your county manager or county staff person who is leading broadband plans. This session includes an overview of how the county is funding broadband, what grants they have been awarded or awarded. Timeline for where they are in the process and what is expected over the project timeline.
Provider Intro: This is a good chance for the provider who has been awarded grants or the main provider who is working in the county to present on their current work, their expansion plans, and the areas they are covering. This part should also include if they are working on affordability, etc.
Community Engagement: Digital Inclusion
- Invite someone from NCDIT to help discuss best way to develop digital inclusion plan.
- Include open discussion about digital inclusion.
Public Awareness Campaign for FCC Challenge Process
Key Messages
This is the first time that the FCC has allowed consumers, state, local and tribal government entities as well as other stakeholders to verify the accuracy of the data shown on the map. Previously, they accepted information submitted to them solely by service providers.
This new process allows challenges to what has been reported and what is experienced on a location specific basis.
Participating in the challenge process helps ensure mapping accuracy and enables communities to identify unserved and underserved areas with the greatest need for high-speed internet infrastructure investments.
Newsletter Messaging
As a trusted leader in your county, you can help your community become better informed about the federal initiatives intended to gather more accurate broadband data from residents. Because outreach from trusted community partners increases public participation in benefit programs, be sure to reach out to your county’s community-based organizations, utility departments, and other local government entities to promote a consistent message and awareness.
Public Awareness Campaign to Continue Funding the Affordable Connectivity Program
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) in 2021, provides a subsidy toward monthly internet access payments for most households that earn up to 200% of federal poverty guidelines. The subsidy is $30 per household and $75 per household on tribal lands. ACP also provides a one-time subsidy of up to $100 toward the purchase of a connected device (e.g., mobile phone, laptop).
Currently 23 million U.S. households receive ACP support. The last fully funded month for ACP is April 2024. The program stopped accepting applications February 7, 2024. On April 9, 2024, the FCC announced reduced maximum reimbursements for May 2024, the final month of the program.
In North Carolina, more than 840,000 households enrolled in the ACP. This program goes beyond helping low-income households access broadband services in their home. It is a key tool to incentivize broadband service providers to deploy capital into rural and underserved areas. With continued funding for ACP, service providers will have more certainty that subscribers are ready and able to sign up as broadband infrastructure is built.
NCACC along with stakeholders, which include the North Carolina Department of Information Technology and members from the North Carolina General Assembly, have advocated for continued funding of this program to help promote access to high speed quality affordable internet access across the state.
NCACC encourages everyone to contact their congressional delegation to advocate for continued funding for ACP. For more information on the ACP winddown, click here.