FCC awards UAMS $1 million for broadband connectivity

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) $1 million to fund outreach for the commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which will help ensure that households have access to broadband internet.

The FCC created the Affordable Connectivity Program to help households struggling to pay for internet service. The benefit provides up to $30 per month for internet service and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer or tablet purchased through participating providers.

“The UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation is committed to seeing affordable, easily accessible broadband in homes throughout Arkansas, and this funding will allow us to collaborate with other leaders statewide to do just that,” said Roy Kitchen, executive director for UAMS e-Link and the principal investigator on the grant.

“Between our two FCC grants, we plan to reach every county in Arkansas through multi-day, boots-on-the-ground outreach to bring awareness and enrollment of this program directly to those who can benefit from discounted broadband in the home. We also have a highly concentrated focus on outreach in the Arkansas Delta to usher in as many new enrollees and broadband users as possible,” he added.

The FCC Affordable Connectivity Program is a benefit program that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, health care and more. UAMS will use a tailored approach to reach communities with the lowest program adoption rates and/or the highest number of eligible households.

Households are eligible for the program if total income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Households are also eligible if they meet one of several criteria, such as being part of federal assistance programs.