If you or a Veteran you know is struggling to afford internet service, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program may put fast and reliable internet service within financial reach.

The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to $30 per month that can be used toward broadband service for eligible households, and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Also, qualifying households may also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers.

Additionally, 20 leading internet providers will offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month. Eligible families who pair their ACP benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed internet at no cost.

To find out if you qualify or to sign up, go to the White House’s Get Internet site or visit the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through an approved carrier by visiting www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575.

Are you one of the approximately 2.5 million Veterans eligible for the program?

A household is eligible if a member meets at least one of the criteria below:

  • Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
  • Participates in certain assistance programs, such as Veterans pension, survivor benefit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Women, Infants, and Children; or Lifeline;
  • Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
  • Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
  • Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
  • Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband carrier’s existing low-income program.

Check if you are eligible

  • Go to ACPBenefit.org to submit an application or print out a mail-in application; and
  • Contact your preferred participating provider to select an eligible plan and have the discount applied to your bill. Some providers may have an alternative application that they will ask you to complete.

Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company using an online or mail-in application.

A good place to start

A good way to further explore your options to get connected is the VA Digital Divide Consult. If you would benefit from video visits but don’t have internet access or a video-capable device, VA’s Digital Divide Consult can help. Through the Digital Divide Consult, a VA social worker can help determine if you are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity program, as well as other programs to help you get the internet service or technology needed for VA telehealth. For more information about the Digital Divide Consult, talk with your VA provider.

Additional ways that VA is keeping Veterans connected

  • VA internet-connected devices: If you don’t have a device with internet access, VA can lend you an internet-connected tablet so you can reach your VA care team through telehealth. The Digital Divide Consult can help determine if you are eligible.
  • Mobile connectivity support for telehealth: Many mobile carriers help Veteran subscribers avoid data charges when using VA Video Connect on their networks. This enables Veterans to access their VA care teams through telehealth with fewer worries about data fees. Visit the VA Mobile website to learn more about the mobile carrier programs and VA Video Connect.
  • Telehealth access stations in your community: Through a pilot program called, “ATLAS” (Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations), VA is bringing telehealth care into Veterans’ communities. ATLAS sites are comfortable, private spaces equipped with internet access and the technology needed for Veterans to have video appointments with their VA providers. VA has teamed up with public and private organizations – including The American Legion, Philips North America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Walmart – to create ATLAS sites in select areas of the country. To see if there is an ATLAS site near you, visit the ATLAS webpage.
  • Internet and phone service discounts: You may be eligible to receive a discount on your home internet or phone service through two Federal Communications Commission (FCC) programs: Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Digital Divide Consult can help determine your eligibility for both FCC programs.
  • How VA telehealth works: VA Telehealth Services gives you access to the care you need, when and where you need it. To learn about VA telehealth, visit the VA Telehealth Services website.

To get started with the Digital Divide Consult, talk with your VA provider today. For more information, visit the Bridging the Digital Divide Consult page.

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28 Comments

  1. James June 7, 2022 at 18:53

    The VA sucks here lately and getting worse….I have numerous …numerous .. documented service connected disabilities.. and they worsen as you get older… Ask for a re-val.. and you get some dang doctor from some suck outsourced facility ( EX. LHI in North CArolina I was sent to for re-evaluation.. .. waited an hour and a half in a low sleezy strip mall suite… saw a doctor whom spoke hardly any language I understood.. billed the Government $$$.. and spent 15 minutes doing so.. 15 minutes,, no xray.. no mri.. no nothing. I was denied. VA and DVA .. not worth a hoot anymore. W should have just died in Combat…!!!!

  2. Thomas June 3, 2022 at 14:37

    “For more information about the Digital Divide Consult, talk with your VA provider.”
    A bit vague, don’t ya think? Why not a link or number to this group? Why the middlewoman/man? They have zero idea what you are asking for.

  3. Billy June 2, 2022 at 19:30

    I agree with Bruce!

    • SHERRY A LOPEZ RICCI June 7, 2022 at 14:17

      I contacted Comcast directly. Told them I am a disabled vet. They send an email for verification. They came out and hooked up my box. 9.95 a month.

  4. Jeffrey D. Tripp June 2, 2022 at 16:47

    Yet another VA program that doesn’t live up to its advertising. The entire system is broke and no one cares.

  5. Bruce A. Detz June 2, 2022 at 12:49

    It shouldn’t be this hard for vets to get these programs. Why do we have to jump thru so many hoops for $30. Their wasn’t any hoops when I raised my right hand.

    • Thomas June 3, 2022 at 14:25

      Agreed. Too many Vets being given the run around or flat out denied.

  6. Larry lyn kindred June 2, 2022 at 12:29

    Use viasat.so do I qualify?

  7. Larry lyn kindred June 2, 2022 at 12:23

    I would be happy if we could receive broadband service.waiting,waiting,waiting. How long will it take to get broadband internet in my area? Been hearing about broadband internet service for a very long time.

  8. John Thomas, Sr. June 2, 2022 at 12:04

    I use starlink. So do I qualify?

  9. Susan May 31, 2022 at 15:26

    Why are disable veterans being rejected like me over and over. I don’t even make $12k a year and also on snaps. Yet, I don’t qualify. I’ve turn in all the proper paper work.
    Guess I have the wrong color of skin or wrong tribe.

    • Kenneth Mitchell Ellis June 2, 2022 at 11:18

      Cut it out, thats not true

      • Thomas June 3, 2022 at 14:30

        How so? The very programs stated as qualifiers are based upon quotas that discriminate. The CFRs pertaining to those programs represent this as fact.

        • anthony reid June 3, 2022 at 23:02

          so it smells like ur saying nobody should have an advantage/leg up no matter what right?

          return your advantages and those like you and give it back to the kin of ancestors who worked for free. that includes all the political and institutional power/advantages as well as medical and legal systems too.

          make that happen and we can then compete equitably! some might say hell yeah. but the realty is white America would ve furious especially when we start making all our own shit and don’t need to buy theirs.
          lions and tigers and lynchings oh my…

          • Jim June 7, 2022 at 23:19

            Nobody should be given an advantage based on race, sex, ethnicity, etc. whether the majority or minority is given an advantage, that is discrimination. Neither is the right thing to do.

    • Thomas June 3, 2022 at 14:23

      Susan, like with Recruitment and Promotions in the Military, college and corporate worlds, there are always quotas, based upon some political agenda, that have to be filled. This simply cannot be denied. In fact, my own Enlistment was directly and negatively affected by such quotas (sex/race). I had to Enlist in the Reserves while the other person, of “equal” stature, was Enlisted into Active Duty. Put my Naval career at a great disadvantage for 4 years. The entire Fed is rife with this. Why would a Federal subsistence program be any different?

      [Editor: Recovered from spam folder. Please don’t post the same response more than once.]

    • Thomas June 3, 2022 at 14:33

      My reply to you seems to not be allowed. Quotas as for real. The Fed is rife with them. My own Enlistment was affected by such.,

  10. Lisa Coloma May 19, 2022 at 23:21

    Thank you! My household now has free internet. Bless you!

    • Joe June 7, 2022 at 13:49

      Got a number of a real person to call to ask questions?

  11. Ron May 19, 2022 at 22:58

    I don’t understand why so many are having problems. It took me just a few minutes to get approval. I just took a photo of the info ACP needed using my Social Security data. Uploaded it and received an email a few minutes later with the code I needed to use. Then, went to my ISP, found their link for using ACP, and filled in all the info. On the next bill I received there was a $30 payment made showing I owed a balance of $35. Been that way each month ever since.

  12. Sonia J Robinson May 12, 2022 at 21:43

    Great information. I would like to know how this information is being disseminated other than the format in which I received it?

  13. Jose Hernandez May 12, 2022 at 19:47

    I’ve been rejected too and no one can tell me what type of veterans pension qualify you for ACP program. I sent them my VA disability letter with no luck. I sent them my military retirement info with no luck qualifying under option 2 (Veterans Pension). When they reject your application, they want to qualify you under Option 1 (Income) lots of smoke and mirrors with no luck getting an answer of what qualifies under Veterans Pensions.

  14. Robert May 12, 2022 at 18:37

    In response to the problems others have noted, the article does say the the ACP is an FCC program, which means you’re probably not going to get any help from the VA.

    I did find this though:

    https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/4412582232980-Need-Help-with-an-Affordable-Connectivity-Program-ACP-or-Emergency-Broadband-Benefit-EBB-complaint

    It seems to be an FCC portal for raising issues about the ACP.

    I hope that helps.

  15. R May 12, 2022 at 16:21

    Please be careful with your current wireless carrier in regards to ACP. Carriers, such as T-Mobile, are forcing customers to switch to their low-budget subsidiaries (Metro by T-Mobile & Assurance Wireless) in order to process the ACP. You are forced to switch to a prepaid acct with a different plan and in some instances, pay for a new device b/c your current cellphone is not compatible. If you have this kind of situation or it takes more than 1-2 billing cycles to get the ACP, file a complaint with both the FCC and/or FCC OIG and state regulatory agencies.

  16. Mark Andrews May 12, 2022 at 11:54

    i am receiving acp benifits. my provider and acp says their is only $30 credit . the info from va says 30 final cost if what the va article in this news letter is true please let me know how to apply .see attached Additionally, 20 leading internet providers will offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month. Eligible families who pair their ACP benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed internet at no cost.

    • IRC June 2, 2022 at 22:16

      Please RE-READ the article this is what it states not that your bill will be $30

      (The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to $30 per month that can be used toward broadband service for eligible households, and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.)

  17. Robert Glassey May 12, 2022 at 00:05

    With 2.5 million veterans eligible for the ACP, would it make sense for the VA to make known and make available documentation that will satisfy the ACP requirements on those, hopefully rare, occasions when the automated online system is unable to establish an applicant’s eligibility?

    PLEASE NOTE that when ACP is unable to establish eligibility, documentation adhering to specific guidelines and specific formats must be submitted to advance the application process.

    Submission of a VA SUMMARY OF BENEFITS LETTER pertaining to Veterans Pension did not meet with success.

    Previous attempts to discover and obtain the required documentation resulted in the following response from ask.va.gov:

    “The Affordable Connectivity Benefit is a benefit outside the VA. We do not have any information on this program.”

  18. Robert Mulvey May 11, 2022 at 21:26

    I keep filling this out with same sht again all over again

Comments are closed.

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