A new study shows that the now expired Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which offered a $30/month discount for 23 million eligible households to pay for home Internet service, helped low-income Americans get better access to jobs, with particularly strong effects for women.
The ACP program ended in May 2024 – thanks to GOP Congressional leaders blocking efforts to allocate additional money when the fund was depleted. Still, the study remains relevant as affordability advocates continue to look for ways to fund a similar program in the future.
Led by Hernan Galperin, Professor and Director of Doctoral Studies at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the research combines ACP administrative records with data from the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS). In doing so, the study’s authors found that access to affordable, high-speed Internet improves employment outcomes by enabling remote work and greater labor market participation.
With millions of Americans who rely on remote work to balance jobs with caregiving responsibilities, the study indicates that the ACP appeared to be a key enabler.
“We find that receiving ACP is associated with improved labor market outcomes, especially for women and for households with high-speed residential connections. We also find that these impacts are driven by increased opportunities for remote work, which is particularly valuable for workers balancing jobs and caregiving responsibilities,” Galperin said in an email.
Of particular note, the study indicates that women benefited the most.
“Our estimates suggest that, without ACP, the post-pandemic recovery in employment among ACP-eligible prime working-age women would have been as much as 25% lower,” Galperin wrote.
The big takeaway, the study’s lead author concluded:
“Overall, when these employment impacts are factored in, the benefits of ACP far outweigh its costs.”
A similar study published by the Brattle Group in March of this year found that the ACP generated more savings for taxpayers than it cost, explaining how the $7.3 billion annual program price tag was more than compensated by the $28.9 to $29.5 billion taxpayers would save from access to remote telehealth visits, which are estimated to be 23 percent less expensive than in-person visits.
The Brattle Group study also found the ACP generated $3.7 billion in increased annual earnings for students due to expanded remote education opportunities, and $2.1 to $4.3 billion in annual wage gains from expanded labor force participation.
Experts say the new study released this week – Can affordable internet increase employment opportunities for low-income workers? Evidence from the Affordable Connectivity Program – underscores why broadband access is increasingly viewed as a form of economic infrastructure and is seen as a way to facilitate economic mobility, workforce participation, and post-pandemic recovery – particularly for those traditionally left behind by labor-market shifts.
As policymakers debate the future of digital inclusion and broadband subsidies, this study provides compelling evidence that programs like ACP can deliver real, measurable benefits.