Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565) lead House sponsor Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., told us she's cautiously optimistic ahead of the opening of a discharge petition Thursday to force a floor vote on the measure (H.Res. 1119). HR-6929/S-3565 proposes allocating $7 billion for FY 2024 to the ailing FCC connectivity program. Thursday marks the end of a seven-legislative-day waiting period before Clarke can begin collecting signatures on the petition, which would require backing from at least 218 members before becoming effective (see 2404100075). Republican observers, even those who support giving ACP stopgap money, are skeptical the discharge petition bid will succeed.
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
What is the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)?
The Affordable Connectivity Program was a recently expired subsidy for low-income households to lower the cost of purchasing broadband internet and connected devices. The program was signed into law as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and administered by the FCC up until June 1, 2024, due to expiration of the ACP’s funding.
Will the ACP Return?
Congress continues to debate restoring ACP funding, with immediate next steps likely to come from the Senate Commerce Committee or Congressional discussions on revising the Universal Service Fund.
Broadband officials and experts Wednesday called for continued pressure to replenish the FCC's affordable connectivity program (see 2404100075). Some panelists during Next Century Cities' bipartisan tech policy conference also urged community leaders to engage with their state broadband offices as NTIA approves states' plans for the broadband, equity, access and deployment program.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and carrier executives warned of challenges from the pending expiration of the affordable connectivity program and negative implications for the broadband access, equity and deployment program, speaking Wednesday at a Competitive Carriers Association conference streamed from Palm Springs, California. Gomez said she supports the proposed 5G Fund, circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last month (see 2403260052), and is focused on concerns raised by CCA and others.
T-Mobile told customers they have options if, as expected, the affordable connectivity program ends (see 2404020075). “Existing customers using their ACP benefit with Assurance Wireless will keep their service through August 2024 without any changes to their price or plan,” T-Mobile said Monday: After, “they’ll need to qualify for Lifeline, a free federal assistance program -- if they don’t already have it -- or move to another low-cost T-Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile plan.” T-Mobile discussed its other low-cost services, including Metro by T-Mobile, Connect by T-Mobile and prepaid 5G data plans.
Possibly facing the end of the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP), the California Public Utilities Commission should quickly modify grant rules to ensure service stays affordable, said The Utility Reform Network in petitions Friday and Monday. “We don’t have the luxury of time here,” said TURN Telecom Policy Analyst Leo Fitzpatrick in an interview Monday. The state cable association slammed TURN’s proposals. But the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), a group that has led efforts to sign up low-income Californians for ACP, supports having “another opportunity to discuss the imperative for California to have a back-up plan to replace the” federal program, said CEO Sunne Wright McPeak in an email Monday.
Create a state version of the affordable connectivity program (ACP) with New York ConnectAll broadband funding helping low-income residents pay for wired broadband, the Cable & Telecommunications Association of New York (CTANY) suggested Thursday. The New York Public Service Commission received comments from the association, which includes Altice and Charter Communications, in docket 22-M-0313. "If ACP is eventually extended by Congress, the state program can complement the federal benefit, but if it is not extended, the subsidy can be an important safety net to continue connectivity for the over one million households who ... rely on ACP in the state,” CTANY said.
Affordable connectivity program providers will be reimbursed up to $14 for providing the benefit to nontribal households next month, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice Tuesday in docket 21-450 (see 2403040077). ISPs will also be reimbursed up to $35 for serving tribal households and up to $47 for connected devices.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., is circulating a discharge petition (H.Res. 1119) in a bid to force a floor vote on her Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565), which would appropriate $7 billion to keep the ailing FCC broadband fund running through the end of FY 2024. Clarke's petition will likely help ACP backers in their push to advance the funding proposal out of the lower chamber and amplify pressure on Congress to act before the program's current money runs out in the coming weeks, lobbyists told us. Advocates acknowledge they still face headwinds in the Senate, where leaders continue eyeing alternative vehicles for the appropriation. Congress approved the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package last month without ACP money (see 2403280001).
Hotwire Communications asked the FCC to abandon its proposal for banning bulk billing arrangements between ISPs and apartment buildings (see 2403050069). Hotwire noted in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-142 that it discussed with Wireline Bureau staff challenges consumers faced when they attempted to apply their affordable connectivity program benefit to a service offered through bulk billing. The company said the difficulties are due to "flaws in the ACP rules," suggesting the FCC amend its rules to "facilitate greater use of ACP discounts where bulk billing arrangements are present" should the program be replenished. Hotwire also asked the commission to consider the item during a commissioners' meeting. "This would enable the public to review and provide input on the draft rulemaking for three weeks prior to the vote," Hotwire said.
Tribal-area wireless provider Smith Bagley asked the FCC to temporarily provide expanded monthly tribal Lifeline benefits of $25 to $65.75 to make up for the loss of funding as the affordable connectivity program expires. “Over 329,000 Tribal households currently receive ACP discounts, including residents living in remote rural areas that have poverty rates many times the national average,” said a petition posted Monday in docket 11-42: The loss of tribal ACP funding "will have devastating impacts as many residents will find high-quality broadband connections to be priced out of their reach, with few or no options to connect.” Smith Bagley also reported on a call with an aide to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on the proposed 5G Fund. It emphasized that the upcoming Tribal 5G Fund auction mechanism “must treat remote Tribal lands as a special case to ensure that these highest-cost areas are not excluded from receiving support as a result of an auction process,” said a filing in docket 20-32. The firm “discussed the extraordinary costs that the company faces in accessing fiber backhaul to its towers, 90% of which are today served by microwave. Without fiber, it will be difficult to meet the Commission’s 5G Fund auction performance requirements.”