Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

State broadband officials are eager to move forward on NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program following the agency's announcement Monday of each state's funding totals (see 2306260007). Industry and advocates also emphasized the need for more participation in the FCC's affordable connectivity program so households can take advantage of new or upgraded infrastructure in their communities.

NTIA announced funding allocations for its broadband, equity, access, and deployment program Monday. All entities will receive a formal notice of their allocations Friday, the agency said. The $42.5 billion program will be used for broadband deployment efforts, adoption and workforce development. Initial proposals may be submitted from July 1 through Dec. 1. States and territories will have access to 20% of their allocated funds once their proposal is approved by NTIA. Texas is receiving by far the largest BEAD award, at more than $3.3 billion.

House Communications Subcommittee members made the future of the FCC’s affordable connectivity program a major focus of its Wednesday commission oversight hearing, as expected (see 2306200075), but the panel didn’t result in a clear sense of whether Commerce Committee GOP leaders will back additional funding for the initiative. Subpanel Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and others haven’t committed themselves as either for or against further ACP funding (see 2305100073). Democrats strongly defended the program and urged its extension.

The FCC’s administration of its affordable connectivity program and other broadband initiatives won’t be the sole focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing with commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and other commissioners, but it’s likely to be the item with the most bearing on future policymaking, observers said in interviews. The panel is happening a day before two of the commissioners -- Republican Brendan Carr and Democrat Geoffrey Starks -- appear before the Senate Commerce Committee for a joint confirmation hearing with new FCC nominee Anna Gomez (see 2306150068). The House Communications hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson warned the "broad goal of closing the digital divide is at risk" because the FCC's affordable connectivity program is "at risk of running out of money," during a New America event Wednesday (see 2306130057). Davidson emphasized the need for affordable broadband options as the agency administers its broadband, equity, access and deployment program. The internet is "the essential communications tool in our modern world" and millions of people across the country "still lack access to an affordable high speed internet," he said: "If we want to reach our goal of helping Americans thrive online, a connection alone is not enough."

The Education Department and hundreds of local and national organizations unveiled Online For All, a campaign to drive Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment. Nonprofit campaign coordinator Civic Nation said ED, working with such groups as the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, will focus efforts on school students and their parents, letting them know about ACP. Comcast Executive Vice President-Digital Equity Broderick Johnson blogged that the company as part of the campaign held ACP awareness events Wednesday and has a variety of others scheduled. "While it’s impressive that more than 18.5 million households have signed up for the ACP benefit so far ... with more than 31 million households eligible for the ACP, but not yet enrolled, our attention must now turn toward broadband adoption," he said Wednesday.

Backers of allocating additional money for the FCC's affordable connectivity program and other broadband initiatives the federal government created during the COVID-19 pandemic need to make Republicans "understand the consequences ... of not funding access," said House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee ranking member Steny Hoyer, D-Md., during a Tuesday Punchbowl News event. GOP leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees called ACP's future into question in May when they asked the FCC's Office of Inspector General to probe the commission's management of the program money it received via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2305080067).

The California Public Utilities Commission authorized pilot programs to allow low-income consumers to stack state and federal benefits to pay for wireline and wireless broadband services. At a virtual meeting Thursday, commissioners voted 5-0 for a revised draft (see 2306060048) in docket R.20-02-008. Meanwhile, a consumer group is raising concerns about Verizon’s Friday letter to the commission on its struggles to migrate TracFone California customers to its network. Ensuring those customers weren’t abandoned was a “central issue” in the state commission’s merger review two years ago, Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) legal counsel Paul Goodman said in an interview.

A proposed California low-income pilot could be extended beyond the conclusion of the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP), under a revised draft released Monday. The California Public Utilities Commission plans to consider the item in docket R.20-02-008 at Thursday’s meeting. "The assigned Commissioner or assigned ALJ may extend the wireline pilot program beyond the conclusion of ACP to a date no later than two years after the effective date of this decision, regardless of whether the ACP is replaced by a successor federal subsidy program,” said new language by assigned Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma. “An extension ruling may not change the California LifeLine subsidy provided through the pilot program or replace the loss of the ACP discount.” Also, Shiroma revised a draft requirement that wireless pilot providers propose a replacement plan for customers after the pilot ends. "A service provider may propose to modify a replacement wireless service plan through a subsequent Tier 1 advice letter, so long as the replacement plan does not increase customer co-payments or reduce customer benefits,” it said. Apparently in response to Verizon’s concerns (see 2305170034), the revised draft also added an exception for “reasonable network management practices” to a proposed restriction on throttling wireless speeds. Providers may limit free smartphone distribution to one per household every 90 days, said another change to the draft.

The FCC continues “to welcome opportunities to improve” the affordable connectivity program (ACP) “and meet our shared goal of connecting 100% of us,” a spokesperson emailed us in response to commission acting Inspector General Sharon Diskin’s letter earlier this week to GOP leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees that she “shares” some of their concerns with the program’s administration. Diskin criticized the FCC for not applying “lessons learned from prior program experience” when it wrote ACP’s rules (see 2305310080). The FCC set up ACP “in record time because Congress required it” via the 2021 Infrastructure investment and Jobs Act “and because we recognize affordable broadband is essential for modern life,” the spokesperson said: “We remain committed to protecting the success and integrity" of ACP "so it operates as Congress envisioned. As such, we’ve independently launched our own program audits, including asking providers to share additional information about their alternative verification programs.” Any “reviews by the inspector general” like Office of Inspector General’s ACP audit “are met with swift response by the agency so we can maintain the ACP’s program integrity,” the spokesperson said.