Comments are due by July 25, replies Aug. 8, on an FCC NPRM on the affordable connectivity program's annual data collection on prices and subscription plan offerings, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the item earlier this month (see 2206090057).
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 will consider how to leverage Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program to better support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday, previewing the commissioners' July 14 meeting agenda. Survivors of domestic and sexual violence "uniquely rely on access to private communications" and face "unique challenges securing reliable phone and internet service," Rosenworcel wrote: The item under consideration will look to "ensure that survivors are able to communicate safely with abuse hotlines and shelters."
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by July 18, replies by Aug. 1, in docket 21-450 on the National Lifeline Association's petition for clarification that the Wireline and Enforcement Bureaus' authority to suspend an affordable connectivity program provider's enrollment or hold funding based on the "adequate evidence" standard, said a notice prepared for Friday's Federal Register (see 2203170065). It also wants comments on NaLA's request for clarification that a provider offering a connected device must provide price information for "at least one of the analogous devices from a major retailer."
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted NTCA's and AT&T's requests to waive some non-usage tracking rules for the affordable connectivity program, in an order Tuesday in docket 21-450. The bureau granted NTCA's request to let small providers track usage for households on tribal lands receiving a fully subsidized offering on a rolling 30-day basis until Sept. 15 and a retroactive waiver to Jan. 1 of the Lifeline usage tracking requirement for providers applying the Lifeline and ACP benefit to the same service if it results in a fully subsidized offering (see 2205270043). Providers must inform the Universal Service Administrative Co. of their intent to take advantage of the waiver within 30 days. The bureau also granted AT&T's request to waive the non-usage rules for its customers receiving fully subsidized plans that use asymmetric digital subscriber line technology until Aug. 13 (see 2205090056).
The FCC plans to release details about the affordable connectivity program's outreach grants and pilot program aimed at boosting enrollment among households receiving federal public housing assistance this summer, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a virtual Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights event Monday.
FCC commissioners adopted an NPRM seeking comment on how it should craft rules for annual data collection on prices and subscription plans for services offerings through the affordable connectivity program (see 2206020058). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the commission to adopt rules for the data collection by November.
FCC commissioners will consider an NPRM during their June 8 meeting that would seek comment on rules for data collection of price and subscription rates of service offerings through the affordable connectivity program, said a sunshine notice Wednesday (see 2205170082). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act mandated an annual data collection.
The National Tribal Telecommunications Association and WTA backed NTCA's request to waive FCC rules regarding the affordable connectivity program's uniform 30-day non-usage tracking requirement for small providers offering fully subsidized plans to households on tribal lands. It's "expensive for small service providers on a per-customer basis, and discourages small provider participation," said WTA, in comments posted Friday in docket 21-450 (see 2205180062). The rule may also harm consumers who were "away from their homes for extended periods" due to "innocent and legitimate causes," the group said. NTTA said its members' ability to track usage this way "does not currently exist outside of a labor-intensive, manual process." It supported a "billing month basis" instead. NTTA also backed delaying the rule's implementation until Sept. 15.
National Lifeline Association asked the FCC to reform the Lifeline program before affordable connectivity program funding runs out, in separate meetings with Wireline Bureau Chief Trent Harkrader and aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, said an ex parte posted Wednesday in docket 11-42 (see 2203180062). The group asked that minimum service standards be eliminated "in favor of opening up competition," eligibility be expanded and "reasonable benefit transfer" limits be adopted. NaLa also asked the FCC to adopt an eligible telecom carrier "safe harbor for reasonable reliance on eligibility determinations" through the National Verifier and National Lifeline Accountability Database. Lifeline "must be ready to support low-income households' broadband needs," NaLa said, adding that it backed a partial-month reimbursement.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by May 26 on NTCA's petition to waive the affordable connectivity program's rolling 30-day non-usage rule for small providers offering fully subsidized plans to tribal households, said a public notice Wednesday in docket 21-450 (see 2205130069). NTCA also asked as an alternative to set a Sept. 15 effective date for the rule.