CONNECTED CITIES AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH (CCIG)
Policy Brief # 8
October 2021
Broadband Affordability and the Emergency Broadband Benefit in California
On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, leading to the establishment of the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. The purpose of this $3.2B program is to help low-income Americans connect to the Internet during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program launched in May 2021, and is set to expire when the funds are depleted or six months after the Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the pandemic. At the time of writing (October 2021), EBB has more than 6 million recipients (about 700K in California), and Congress is discussing several proposals to transition the EBB into a permanent broadband subsidy program.
Hernan Galperin, Associate Professor
USC Annenberg School for Communication
François Bar, Professor
USC Annenberg School for Communication
Thai V. Le, Postdoctoral Researcher
USC Price School for Public Policy
