Behind the Acronym
Vyve Broadband Finds ACP Success By Going Deep
By Cathy Applefeld Olson
While the Affordable Connectivity Program is widely offered by operators, only about 25% of households have enrolled in the FCC program. For those that are seeing strong adoption rates, the success may be in the semantics.
Enter Vyve Broadband. The company—whose fiber network footprint crosses 16 states—has been doubling down to ensure it wasn’t just talking the talk but walking potential customers through the process of enrolling.
“When you work at a job you get so close to the terminologies you think everyone knows what they mean. But when we started looking at the trends, we realized they didn’t really mean anything to the average consumer,” says Jill Arbet, Vyve’s SVP of Marketing. “Instead of highlighting the name of the program, we should be highlighting the benefits of the program.”
The shift is delivering big. Vyve has seen more than 20% growth for ACP thus far in 2023. “We went out pretty aggressively and marketed via cross channels,” Arbet says. “We do a lot of door-tagging in our footprint and on a lot of those we explain the current offer. And we made sure all technicians and frontline service people are aware of the program.”
The company operates one of its largest systems in hometown Shawnee, Okla., which is also headquarters of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a demographic whose members are each eligible for a monthly discount of $75.
“We met with the Potawatomi and some of the other tribes to make sure they had an understanding of the program. And we set up a meeting at a local bank and invited all the [local] not-for-profits to meet with us and we explained the program and gave them posters and flyers,” Arbet says. “We had more ACP connects in that area than any across the whole footprint.”
“Access to information and Internet services is still a barrier for many Shawnee, Oklahoma, residents,” says Courtney Gerow, PLS Shawnee, library branch manager. “Having the ACP materials Vyve created available to hand directly to those in need has helped open this opportunity in our community.”
Vyve also partnered with retirement homes, libraries and schools across its footprint, sending emails to superintendents and school district employees explaining the program.
“If someone in the household has a free school lunch, even if the child is living with grandparents, then their house is eligible for the ACP,” Arbet says. “So if you’re in a school district and you know 80% of your kids are on [free] school lunch, then 80% of your kids could be getting a discount. And college students are also eligible. We have a lot of universities in our footprint so we put information on all of our back-to-college material.”
Also critical, Arbet notes, is follow-up. “The big step after messaging is making sure they understand how to get the service. It’s not automatic; they have to go to the website, so the other key part of being successful is that our call center representatives and local retail folks know enough to walk potential customers through the issues or loopholes they may run into when they’re trying to enroll.”