The Affordable Connectivity Program is over. It stopped accepting new households in February 2024 and ended entirely on 1 June 2024. If you are looking for the $30 monthly discount, it no longer exists and no federal program has replaced it at that size.
Several smaller low income internet programs do still exist, and most rural households qualify for at least one. Here is what is real, who it is for, and where to apply.
Lifeline: the federal program that is still running
Lifeline is the one federal internet and phone discount that survived. It is older than ACP, it was never part of it, and it is still open.
| Lifeline | What you get | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard benefit | Up to $9.25 a month | Households at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines |
| Tribal lands benefit | Up to $34.25 a month | Households on qualifying Tribal lands |
| Texas add-on | Up to $3.50 a month on top | Texas households, through a separate state discount |
You also qualify automatically if someone in the household receives SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance or a Veterans Pension. Amounts are set by the FCC and confirmed against the Universal Service Administrative Company, August 2026.
Two rules catch people out. Lifeline is one benefit per household, not per person. And it applies to either phone service or internet service, not both at once. Most households put it on whichever bill is larger.
Where to apply
Most people apply through the federal National Verifier at lifelinesupport.org, then contact a participating phone or internet company to switch the discount on. Approval and activation are two separate steps, and the second one is the one people forget.
Texas is different. Texas runs its own application through the Public Utility Commission’s Low-Income Discount Administrator, and it carries that extra state discount on top of the federal one. Texas households should start at the Texas PUC low-income assistance page or call the administrator on 1-866-454-8387.
You have to recertify every year. If a letter arrives asking you to confirm you still qualify, answer it, or the discount stops.
Free government internet service, and what that phrase actually means
There is no program that gives every low-income household internet at no cost. What exists is a $9.25 discount that some providers stack against a cheap plan until the remaining bill reaches zero or close to it. Whether you end up paying nothing depends entirely on which company serves your address.
So the honest answer is: apply for Lifeline, then ask your provider what it brings your bill down to. That number is different in every county.
Low income internet plans from the providers themselves
Several providers kept their own discounted plans running after ACP ended. These are company programs, not government ones, so eligibility and price are set by the company and change without notice.
We deliberately do not list prices here. They move often, and a page quoting last year’s price is worse than a page quoting none.
One thing the national guides miss: across much of rural Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama, none of those four companies serve the address. The provider is a local telephone cooperative, an electric cooperative or a fixed wireless outfit. Those providers often have a discount program that never appears in any national list. Call the company that actually sends your bill and ask what they offer, before you assume the answer is no.
The free laptop or tablet from ACP
That was the ACP connected device benefit, and it ended with the rest of the program. There is no federal free laptop program now.
Refurbished computers at low or no cost are still available from national nonprofits:
- PCs for People — qualifies households below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines or 60% of area median income, or anyone on SNAP, Medicaid or SSI
- Human-I-T — accepts SNAP or EBT, Medicaid, SSI and National School Lunch Program as proof
Your local library and school district are worth asking too. Device lending programs are common and almost never advertised outside the county.
When the problem is that there is no service at all
None of the above matters if no provider runs a line to your road. That is a different problem, and it is not one a household can solve alone. It gets solved when a community organises around it: mapping who is actually unserved, challenging the coverage data, and going after the money that builds the line.
That is the work Communities Unlimited does.
How CU works on broadband
CU works with communities on broadband, not with individual households. We do not enroll anyone in Lifeline and we do not sell internet service. What our broadband team does is sit down with local leaders, utility boards and community groups across our seven states and work through planning, coverage data, funding applications, partnership-building and digital skills programs.
In April 2026 CU launched the Rural Broadband Institute, founded by Catherine Krantz, CU’s Area Director for Broadband. It brings together technical assistance, training, research and policy work for rural communities and the partners they need at the table.
If you are a mayor, a council member, a co-op board member or someone organising your community around getting connected, that is the conversation to have with us. See what our broadband team does.
If you are a household looking for a cheaper bill this month, start with Lifeline above. It is the fastest route, and it is open now.
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Communities Unlimited is proud to be part of the Arkansas Connectivity Coalition. The Arkansas Connectivity Coalition is a group of more than 15 organizations committed to making high-speed internet more accessible and affordable in Arkansas. The Coalition is made up of nonprofits, advocacy organizations, thought leaders and philanthropies that recognize access to broadband is essential for full participation in the 21st century: the future of the state’s healthcare, education and economic infrastructure all relies on Arkansans having reliable internet service.
