FCC Diversity Committee Laments ACP Wind-Down

The FCC’s Communications, Equity and Diversity Council may lobby for affordable connectivity program funding, according to comments at Tuesday’s CEDC meeting, the second under a new charter that lasts until 2025. The CEDC has 10 months to prepare recommendations for the FCC on implementing digital discrimination rules and getting the most for underserved communities out of federal broadband infrastructure funding, Chair Heather Gate said. “We must make recommendations to the FCC directly, but we should not be afraid to make recommendations that the FCC can communicate with other agencies,” Gate said. “We may also ask the FCC to communicate our recommendations with the White House or Congress."

The ACP’s demise is a “setback” for the CEDC and its mission, said Gate, Connected Nation executive vice president-digital inclusion. “After connecting 20 million people, we made tremendous progress toward bridging the digital divide. We have taken several steps back,” she said. FCC staff spoke at the meeting about the ACP's status, and ACA Connects Chairman Patricia Boyers, a CEDC member, urged the council to support a permanent ACP. “ACA as a whole, me as the chair, we would do everything possible to come alongside the FCC and whatever you all can get done about implementing ACP permanently and finding a bucket of the money that's not tied to some political pendulum that swings back and forth between whoever's in power,” she said. Gate said it's “important to continue to elevate those stories and communicate those messages, and continue to push for something to be done by Congress.” The CEDC “made so much progress with ACP, and that was not the time for us to wrap up and go home.”

Gate said that despite the setback, the CEDC is working on funded mandates such as recommendations for implementing the FCC’s digital discrimination order. The CEDC is in “a pivotal moment” and has “many reasons to be optimistic about where we’re going.” The previous CEDC’s recommendations were incorporated into the digital discrimination order.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the group announced membership of its three working groups and their missions. The Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working group, with AT&T Director-Federal Regulatory Anisa Green as chairperson, will tackle recommendations for accelerating equitable deployment of broadband. The Diversity and Equity Working Group, chaired by LGBT Tech Executive Director Christopher Wood, will examine employment in the communications and telecom sectors, and the Innovation and Access Working Group will consider media ownership and access to capital. A chair for Innovation and Access hasn’t been appointed, but CEDC Designated Federal Officer Rodney McDonald said the Office of General Counsel is working on “vetting” one.