Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Headlines Daily Digest
Status of the Affordable Connectivity Program
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FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Responds to Congress Regarding the Status of the Affordable Connectivity Program
On January 8, 2024, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote a letter updating lawmakers on the status of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Launched in 2021 under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Affordable Connectivity Program is the largest internet affordability program in US history, and has enrolled nearly 23 million households, helping close the digital divide by bringing more households online. The FCC expects funding for the ACP to last through April 2024, and run out completely in May. In her letter, Chairwoman Rosenworcel outlined the next steps the FCC will take if Congress does not provide additional funding for the ACP. "First, the Commission will offer ACP providers guidance on the timing and requirements for notifying participating households about the projected end of the ACP," she said. "To avoid consumer confusion and minimize the risk of consumer bill shock, providers must give consumers specific, frequent notice about the projected end of the program and their ACP discount, and how that will impact their internet bill. Second, the Commission will announce a date for stopping the enrollment of new households in the ACP ... Third, the Commission will formally determine the projected end date for the program."
New polling shows that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) continues to be overwhelmingly popular among Republican, Democratic, and Independent voters alike. Among Independents, the margin of support for ACP has jumped from 40 percent to 56 percent over the last year. The ACP provides qualifying households with up to $30 off their monthly home internet bills and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands. A strong, bipartisan majority of voters (79 percent) support continuing the ACP, including 62 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of Independents, and 96 percent of Democrats, according to a national survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and RG Strategies in December 2023. Given the important role the ACP plays in ensuring millions of low-income American families and veterans can continue to access the internet for work, school, telemedicine, and other purposes, Congress must act now to reauthorize funding and preserve this overwhelmingly popular program.
It’s easy to say that fiber is better than cable technology or fixed wireless when in real life, broadband customers make this decision. My firm does a lot of broadband surveys every year, and we find customers who are happy with most broadband technologies. The bottom line is that any broadband technology or provider that a customer likes is good for them. For a customer to remain happy for a long time requires technology that works, customer service that is responsive, and a price that customers are happy with. Are there superior technologies? Some networks clearly outperform competitors in a given neighborhood. But the superior technology for any given customer is the one they choose to buy that they are satisfied with. Who am I to argue with a happy customer?
There’s not much new in T-Mobile’s latest report to the Federal Communications Commission on the progress it’s made since its merger with Sprint. The report, submitted on January 2, centers on the network milestones that T-Mobile has accomplished with respect to its 3-year commitments for nationwide 5G deployment, which includes low-band and mid-band 5G coverage, 5G sites, download speeds and more. Some of the more interesting tidbits about T-Mobile’s 5G deployment – such as the number of 5G sites it’s deployed nationwide and specifically, the number of 5G sites deployed in rural areas – are redacted in the report. T-Mobile requested confidential treatment of that information. But it did reveal some details about the drive testing done to verify compliance with 5G speed commitments. The report states that T-Mobile collected “an unprecedented” number of speed measurements – or about 5 million in total, representing 10 times the industry average. The drive tests were done under terms agreed upon with the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
NOVOS FiBER publicized itself with an announcement that Arlington (TX)will soon have a new broadband provider. NOVOS FiBER was founded in 2022, funded by InLight Capital, a private investment firm based in Sugar Land (TX). NOVOS Fiber is entering both the retail and wholesale markets and plans to serve a “significant number” of homes over the next two years. First focusing on Texas, NOVOS will eventually expand beyond state lines. Founder and CEO Andrew Snead said he and the company have a strong conviction to go against the grain of the “internet service is primarily a utility” mentality. “You need to think about the end-to-end experience which pure utility players don’t tend to do,” said Snead. “You can alienate your customer base, because they look at internet service as a technology investment versus utilities like water and electricity. If we completely commoditize internet service without regard for the entire experience, we’re missing how customers view internet and creating frustration.”
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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