Census datareleased in September shows 2.8 million American households added an internet subscription in 2023.
Still, 92.2% of American households now have an internet subscription – up from 76.7% in 2015.
In other words, thedigital dividecontinues to narrow.
With the outstanding question being, how many did we lose when the ACP went away?
We won’t really know for some time.
Some of that went to addressing affordability.
The ACP was doing what it set out to do, Levin said.
The ACP had enrolled 23 million households by the time it expired in May 2024.
How many of those people didnt have internet before the program is an open question.
That tells us there’s a lot more work to do.
Thats why youll see some significant differences between the censuss numbers and other organizations.
The same year, the Census Bureaus American Community Survey put the figure at 7.8%.
Add another grain of salt.
Still, the ACS data is worth taking seriously.
The numbers themselves might be inflated, but that doesnt mean the trends are.
Will the loss of the ACP exacerbate the digital divide?
The open question in broadband circles is how much well backslide now that theACP has expired.
Many of the experts I spoke with predicted that wed see a regression in next years numbers.
Frankly, the need for broadband isnt going down, it will only increase, Thayer said.
If we dont, it will be rural areas that will ultimately feel the adverse effects.
