Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

While the FCC received support for moving forward on a November proposal permitting schools and libraries to get E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2311090028) many commenters raised questions. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented on an NPRM, questioning the proposal's legal underpinnings, and several comments agreed. The comments were filed the same week as the U.S. Supreme Court considered the Chevron doctrine's future and how strictly regulators must adhere to statutory language (see 2401170074).

Cable operators not providing 100/20 Mbps speeds and fixed wireless access operators will be among the broadband equity, access and deployment program's biggest beneficiaries, speakers said during a Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers/Light Reading webinar Thursday. In addition, installers and equipment providers can anticipate "a very busy [next] four years," Morgan Lewis communications lawyer Andrew Lipman said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker (R) and more than 170 other U.S. cities' leaders urged House and Senate leaders Tuesday to “renew and extend” funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, which is expected to exhaust its current $14.2 billion allocation in April. Last week, the FCC began initial steps to wind down ACP, with the Wireline Bureau declaring it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 (see 2401110072). Also, last week, a group of lawmakers filed the ACP Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565) in a bid to infuse $7 billion for FY 2024 into the program (see 2401100056). ACP “has been a key tool in our efforts to eliminate the digital divide in America” since Congress first authorized it via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and it “has wide support,” the U.S. Conference of Mayors said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their respective minority leaders. “From Democrats to Republicans, to rural and urban areas, to the telecommunications industry and all levels of government,” ACP “is recognized by all as successful.” Extending the program “will help close the digital divide, allow Americans to access the resources they need, and strengthen the U.S. economy to compete in the 21st Century,” the mayors said in the letter.

California must ensure a permanent affordable broadband option for residents should the affordable connectivity program (ACP) run out of money, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D) said during an Assembly Communications Committee meeting Wednesday. The committee voted 7-3 for Wilson’s AB-1588, despite concerns from some that the legislation could be stronger. The bill would allow the state to do business only with ISPs that have affordable plans costing at most $40 monthly for at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds. Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D) stressed that she will support the bill only if it’s amended to require at least 100/20 Mbps speeds. Wilson said she’s open to raising the floor to 100/20 Mbps and lowering the price ceiling to $30 if it helps pass the bill. Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D) said she couldn’t support the bill because of worries about its unintended harms to low-income residents. Nguyen suggested waiting until April to see what happens with ACP. The California Emerging Technology Fund supported the bill, but USTelecom, CTIA, Wireless Infrastructure Association and the state cable association opposed it. “Attempting to rate regulate the industry ... does not resolve federal inactivity” to renew ACP, said Amanda Gualderama, California Broadband and Video Association legislative and regulatory director. USTelecom lobbyist Yolanda Benson noted that Congress earlier that day introduced a bill to fund ACP (see 2401100056). Broadband prices have declined without government invention, she said. Also, the committee voted 10-1 for a bill that discourages Californians from calling state agencies’ toll-free numbers. AB-1135 wouldn’t force agencies to decommission their 800 numbers but would require they advertise local area code numbers instead, said sponsor Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D). He said California spends $7 million annually for toll-free numbers, even though most residents have phone plans with unlimited minutes. The government pays only when someone uses the 800 number, so encouraging use of toll numbers would save cash, he said. Toll-free numbers remain important for those still relying on landlines, said The Utility Reform Network lobbyist Ignacio Hernandez. The consumer advocate is glad the bill wouldn’t get rid of toll-free numbers, but believes it should direct agencies to continue displaying them as an option.

The FCC took its first official steps Thursday to wind down the affordable connectivity program. A Wireline Bureau order in docket 21-450 gives providers guidance on notifying enrolled households about the impact of the program ending, advertising and outreach, claims submissions and "participation during a possible partially funded month." The bureau said it will announce ACP's final date about 60 days prior to the end of the program's last fully funded month. "To facilitate the efficient wind-down of the ACP, we strongly encourage providers to submit any remaining outstanding claims for reimbursement or revisions prior to February 1," the order said. The bureau will freeze new enrollments Feb. 8, which it said will help it "more accurately project funding exhaustion by increasing certainty in program commitments." ACP "connected millions upon millions of households to broadband services," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. "[D]isconnecting millions of families from their jobs, schools, markets, and information is not the solution," she added. Commissioner Anna Gomez said she was "dismayed that the commission finds itself with no choice but to initiate the wind down process," but "I remain hopeful that this program will continue to be funded."

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Senate Agriculture Rural Development Subcommittee Chairman Peter Welch, D-Vt., led filing Wednesday of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act to give the initiative stopgap funding through the rest of the year, as expected (see 2401090074). The measure would allocate ACP $7 billion for FY 2024, mirroring an earlier draft of the measure Clarke circulated in recent weeks. The FCC estimates the program could exhaust its original $14.2 billion appropriation in April. Congress’ appetite for providing the program more money remains in question given misgivings among top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2312210074), although several Republicans signed on as ACP Extension Act sponsors at filing: Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and New York Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro. The measure “provides a transformative opportunity to bridge the gap of the digital divide for communities of color, urban and rural families, and so many more underserved Americans,” Clarke said in a statement. “Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity,” Welch said. “That’s why it’s never been so important to avoid this funding cliff and extend the ACP.” Welch’s office cited support from more than 400 companies, groups and other entities, including FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her fellow Democratic Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks. In addition, several major ISPs and related industry groups are backing the measure: AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, Incompas, NTCA, T-Mobile, USTelecom, Verizon, Wireless Infrastructure Association and WTA. Others supporting the ACP Extension Act: the AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Communications Workers of America, Fiber Broadband Association, Free Press, NAACP, Pew Charitable Trusts and Public Knowledge.

More funding is "urgently needed" to maintain the FCC's affordable connectivity program, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told lawmakers in a letter Monday. Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., plan to introduce legislation Wednesday that would provide ACP with stopgap funding, though Congress’ appetite for providing the program more money remains in question given misgivings among top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2312210074), communications policy-focused lobbyists told us.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance urged that the FCC ensure providers and households in the affordable connectivity program are prepared when it ends. In a letter posted Monday in docket 21-450, the group asked for a requirement that ISPs notify participating households 90, 60 and 30 days prior to ACP's end. Moreover, it asked that the FCC create a public list of consumer protections and lead an awareness campaign about the wind-down. NDIA suggested that ACP outreach grant recipients help conduct outreach about affordable plans. "Without the ability to reach impacted households, grantees risk losing the trust of those they enrolled in the program, which undermines the successful implementation of future broadband benefit programs the commission may administer," the group said.

A cable industry priority for the new year is opposing the FCC's proposal that requires MVPDs to refund subscribers for programming blackouts due to failed retransmission consent talks with broadcasters, ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer told Communications Daily. In an interview, Spellmeyer discussed his 18 months as ACA head (see 2205170043), video's declining -- but not negligible -- importance to his members, and cable's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program concerns. The following transcript was edited for length and clarity.

Lead Republican lawmakers’ recent charge that the FCC was “deeply misleading” about the affordable connectivity program’s efficacy (see 2312150068) has solidified perceptions on and off Capitol Hill that it will be extremely difficult to reach a deal allocating additional money before the initiative's funding runs out next year, lobbyists and observers told us. Estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust its initial $14.2 billion tranche from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024 (see 2309210060). The White House is pushing for Congress to appropriate an additional $6 billion to fully fund the program through the end of 2024 (see 2310250075).