New Interactive Map Shows Estimated Enrollment by Congressional District in At-Risk Broadband Affordability Program

Red States Lead with Highest Enrollment Rates

WASHINGTON — The Digital Progress Institute, a bipartisan think tank focused on bridging the policy divide between telecom and tech, has launched a new interactive Affordable Connectivity Congressional Map.  The map illustrating estimated enrollment in the Affordability Connectivity Program (ACP) by congressional district and state. A popular broadband affordability program with overwhelming bipartisan support, the ACP was created in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and it is now at risk of running out of funding next year if Congress fails to act. Since its inception, over 16 million people have enrolled in the program nationwide.

“The Digital Progress Institute launched the interactive map to demonstrate to members of Congress that their constituents rely on the ACP and it’s a program worth saving,” said Joel Thayer, president of Digital Progress Institute. “The map will be continually updated as new enrollment figures become available, but what’s clear from this map today is that the ACP knows no political ideology or geographic boundaries – over 16 million Americans from Louisiana to Kentucky to Ohio are participating in this program and enrollment shows no signs of slowing down.”

DPI Files Amicus in Montana TikTok Case

On Sept. 18, 2023, the Digital Progress Institute an amicus brief in the Montana TikTok case, explaining why Montana’s law to protect its citizens from foreign espionage complied with the First Amendment”

“The information wars are upon us and our enemies are leveraging our technology to get the upper hand. If this Court rules in favor of TikTok, it would open the door for known corporate affiliates of the Chinese government—like Huawei, ByteDance, and ZTE—or Russian technology companies to weaponize our Constitution to spy on our population. Because Congress and the several States must have the ability to protect the American people, denying TikTok’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is in the public interest.”

“As for the First Amendment, Montana’s law is targeted towards TikTok’s conduct, not its or its users’ speech. Courts frequently uphold the constitutionality of statutes that ban the operation of communications services, like TikTok, to protect Americans against foreign adversaries—especially so when there are numerous alternative options.”

How to think about the Google antitrust case

Google has centralized control over the internet ecosystem. But did they get that way by having a superior product? Or did they game the system by buying up the companies that actually created most of Google’s products — and burying their competitors?

The Department of Justice and several states have sued Google, claiming it wasn’t ingenuity but a buy-or-bury strategy that let the company monopolize the search market. The trial started last week. 

How will the case fare? It all comes down to how the court applies the consumer welfare standard.

DPI to FCC: Maximize the Value of the 12 GHz Bands

In its reply comments, the Digital Progress Institute argues the Commission should put American families and veterans front and center in thinking about the 12.2 GHz and 12.7 GHz bands, which means maximizing their usage for fixed and mobile broadband.

Problem Solvers in Congress Want to Extend the Affordable Connectivity Program

A bipartisan group of Members known as the Problem Solvers Caucus last month called on congressional leadership to extend the ACP in the upcoming government appropriations bill. As they recognize, Congress must extend funding for the ACP or condemn millions of Americans to second-class Internet.

DPI Comments on Future of USF

In a letter to the Senate’s Universal Service Fund Working Group, the Digital Progress Institute argues for more funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, a reorientation of the FCC’s Lifeline program to support voice-only households, and the implementation of the 5G Fund so that every American can access next-generation services. In turn, DPI argues for reform of the USF’s contribution scheme so that Big Tech, not American families and veterans, shoulder the burden of universal service.