The National Lifeline Association asked the FCC to revise the Lifeline program so it's "ready to support low-income households' broadband needs" before the affordable connectivity program ends. The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. "must also take responsibility for the National Verifier's failure" to prevent instances of waste, fraud and abuse, NaLA told Wireline Bureau staff and an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr in separate meetings, per an ex parte filing Monday in docket 21-450. The group sought "more resources and standardized communications and escalation plans" to improve the Verifier and ensure transparency for consumers applying for the ACP benefit.
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.
The FCC’s persistent 2-2 tie since the beginning of the Biden administration and the resulting dearth of partisan Democratic telecom policy actions will likely blunt the level of criticism Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and the commission will initially face from House Commerce Committee Republicans during the next Congress if their party wins a majority in the Nov. 8 election, said ex-panel Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and other observers in interviews. But Commerce GOP oversight of the FCC would likely ratchet up significantly if and when the commission returns to a 3-2 Democratic majority, officials said. Regardless, there will be a major emphasis on whether the FCC is abiding by the Supreme Court’s embrace of the "major questions” doctrine in its West Virginia v. EPA ruling (see 2206300066), officials said.
FCC commissioners approved 4-0 Thursday, as expected (see 2210240047), an order launching a notice of inquiry on the 12.7 GHz band. The agency also cleared a plan to extend USF support to eligible mobile and fixed carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and an NPRM addressing Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication standards. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel acknowledged she had circulated an item focused on the 4.9 GHz band (see 2210260064).
House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., pressed AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and 10 other major ISPs on reports “that some providers may not be adhering to the requirements” of the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and emergency broadband benefit (EBB) enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The other ISPs drawing Pallone’s scrutiny are: Altice, Charter, Cox, Dish Network, Excess Wireless, Frontier, Lumen, Maxsip, Q Link and T-Mobile. “These reports detail problems customers have faced, including either having their benefits initiated, transferred to a new provider, or changed to a different plan without their knowledge or consent,” Pallone said in letters to the 13 ISPs’ top executives. “Other customers have reported a delay in the application of the benefit or a requirement to opt-in to future full-price service, which has resulted in surprise bills that have been sent to collection agencies. There have also been reports of aggressive upselling of more expensive offerings, requirements that customers accept slower speed service tiers, and other harmful and predatory practices.” Congress “explicitly outlined requirements designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, maximize the enrollment of eligible households, and ensure that consumers are protected in the process,” he said: “Importantly, Congress incorporated lessons learned in the emergency implementation of EBB to fully inform the creation of ACP, including by enhancing safeguards to preserve program integrity and ensuring that ACP would truly benefit consumers and not leave them vulnerable to predatory schemes or misleading practices.” Pallone wants information from the ISPs by Nov. 9 about their practices, including the number of beneficiaries they have signed up, the number of complaints they have received regarding the programs’ administration and their processes for resolving complaints. "We look forward to responding to the Chairman’s questions, and we remain committed to helping make broadband more affordable for millions of American households,” an AT&T spokesperson said. "Charter’s significant participation in the EBB and ACP programs has helped millions of families gain access to reliable and affordable, high-speed in-home internet; and builds on our broader, ongoing commitment to increasing connectivity by promoting broadband availability, adoption and affordability for all," a spokesperson said. Excess is "working diligently with government officials and other stakeholders to root out improper activities," a spokesperson said. The other ISPs didn’t comment.
Wisconsin officials promised Tuesday to take big strides to close the state’s digital divide. Local governments should engage with the state on plans for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and do more to increase participation in the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP), said Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq at a partially virtual broadband forum co-hosted by NTIA and the Wisconsin PSC: “We cannot leave any part of our state behind.”
Industry groups asked the FCC to ensure the affordable connectivity program's annual data collection is "streamlined and efficient for the benefit of consumers and providers," per an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 21-450 (see 2207260070). NTCA, USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA and ACA Connects met with Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staffers. The groups said a subscriber-level collection "would run afoul" of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and be "difficult, if not impossible" to define the requirement. It would also "have a chilling effect among subscribers who do not wish to turn over their personal data," the groups said, suggesting the FCC collect aggregated data at the state level on price and subscription rates of ACP service offerings.
After scrapping a California LifeLine proposal on the state low-income program’s interaction with federal support (see 2210040037), the California Public Utilities Commission sought comment Friday on a possible pilot for using federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds. It would “test an approach to providing a bundled service plan that includes voice service and sufficient wireline or wireless broadband service to meet household needs,” said the ruling by Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma in docket R.20-02-008. Pilot participants could “stack” up to $17.90 monthly of the California LifeLine specific support amount with the $30 ACP discount and $9.25 federal Lifeline subsidy for plans that meet the pilot criteria, it said. All state LifeLine participants who meet ACP and federal Lifeline eligibility criteria would be eligible for the pilot, it said. Comments are due Nov. 30, with replies due Dec. 30.
More than 1 million New York households enrolled in the federal affordable connectivity program, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Wednesday. About 30% of eligible New York households subscribe, the governor’s office said. With ACP and “and a multi-agency outreach effort in New York State, we're connecting more eligible households to broadband subsidies than anywhere else in the nation,” Hochul said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau waived provisions of the E-rate, Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rural Health Care, COVID-19 Telehealth, Lifeline, and Affordable Connectivity Program rules for participants and USF contributors in Puerto Rico due to damage from Hurricane Fiona, said an order Thursday. The order includes extensions for E-rate, Rural Health Care and ECF deadlines, waivers of document retention rules for records destroyed by Hurricane Fiona, and increased flexibility for service substitutions. It also waives Lifeline non-usage, recertification and reverification requirements and ACP recertification and de-enrollment requirements for subscribers in Puerto Rico. “Given the damage caused by Hurricane Fiona to Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, strict compliance with these rules would be impracticable and would risk harm” to subscribers, the order said. The order also waives some USF requirements for affected contributors. “The extensive damage to property and facilities caused by Hurricane Fiona has rendered many providers unable to serve the Affected Disaster Areas.” The FCC disaster information reporting system showed 26.4% of cellsites down Thursday, and 703,576 wireline subscribers without service, compared with 741,451 Wednesday. The report shows five FM stations and four AM stations still out of service and no public safety access points down.
To close the digital literacy gap and maximize federal dollars for increasing broadband access, programs and institutions need to focus on local solutions, existing community programs, and community anchor institutions like libraries, said numerous panelists at the FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council’s virtual Digital Skills Gap Symposium and Town Hall Thursday. The symposium is intended to help inform the CEDC’s efforts to create a national plan and toolkit for digital upskilling in connection with the Digital Equity Act, said CEDC Chair Heather Gate.