Affordable Connectivity Program

ACP helps households afford internet, and devices they need for school, work, healthcare, and more. The ACP offers these benefits for eligible households: up to a $30 per month discount on high-speed internet service through participating internet providers. Qualifying households who are enrolled can get Sonic Fiber Internet completely free.

The easiest way to know if you qualify for the ACP is to confirm eligibility through the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD). To qualify, a member of your household must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• If your income is 200% or less than the Federal Poverty Guidelines (see the table here). The guideline is based on your household size and state. The table reflects the income limit by household size, which is 200% of the 2022 Federal Poverty Guidelines.

• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;

• 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 in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year.

• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year.

• If you apply online, you may be able to receive immediate approval. If they cannot confirm your eligibility automatically, they will request additional documentation from you and provide information on how you can submit those documents for review. Applying by mail will add additional time depending on your postal service.

• If you need to talk to someone about your eligibility or application status, call the ACP Support Center at (877) 384-2575.

• Step 1: All interested Sonic members must complete the eligibility form found on the National Verifier website. The federal government’s National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) is a centralized system that determines Lifeline and ACP eligibility.

• Step 2: Once you have completed the eligibility form and confirmed that you’ve qualified, go to your Sonic Member Tools to enroll in the benefit program through Sonic.

• Step 3: Qualifying households who are enrolled can get Sonic Fiber Internet completely free.

There are varying reports, but the ACP itself will last for as long as the federal government provides funding, which is expected to continue for several years. If you need to talk to someone about the Affordable Connectivity Program’s duration, call the ACP Support Center at (877) 384-2575.

Yes, existing credits will remain in affect in addition to the ACP credit.

ACP subsidies are nontransferable. The ACP benefit is limited to one per household.

Moving would not change your ACP eligibility. However, you may need to re-enroll in ACP at your new address. If you move into an area not serviceable by Sonic for instance, you will need to check with your new Internet service provider to make sure they are also a participating provider in the ACP.

The ACP subsidy is limited to one per household and can only be applied to one provider at a time. If there is a reason for you to no longer enroll in the ACP with Sonic however, you would need to then apply for eligibility with a different internet service provider. You can obtain broadband service subsidized by the ACP from any participating provider of your choice.

After your eligibility and enrollment is confirmed, you should see the ACP credit on your next bill. Depending upon the timing of your enrollment however, that credit could be rolled onto the next billing cycle. In which case you would see that credit applied twice on your second month billed.

Yes! Sonic offers a data-only fiber internet service for 1Gbps and 10Gbps for $30. After you sign up for Sonic and are successfully enrolled in the ACP program, you can visit your Member Tools to switch to Basic Fiber and receive free internet service.