Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission for the purpose of facilitating their joint and common goals, obligations, and responsibilities to protect consumers and the public interest. The Agencies recognize and acknowledge that each agency has legal, technical, and investigative expertise and experience that is valuable for rendering advice and guidance to the other relating to the acts or practices of Internet service providers. It is agreed that: 

President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is making once-in-a-generation investments in America’s infrastructure and our clean energy future that are creating good-paying and union jobs, establishing and growing new industries in the United States, tackling the climate crisis, and helping lower costs for families. To deploy these investments, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken aggressive action to accelerate project permitting and environmental reviews.

The ACCESS BROADBAND Act requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) to submit to relevant congressional committees and publish on its website an annual report that contains a description of OICG’s work for the previous year and the number of U.S.

Since 2021, struggling Americans have made ends meet with the help of a popular federal benefit known as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which covers home internet service. But in just a few weeks their internet bills could skyrocket by hundreds of dollars a year. That’s because the ACP is running out of funds—and Congress shows no signs it will approve more. Policy experts have described the situation as a fast-approaching economic crisis and a major step backward for closing the digital divide between internet haves and have-nots.

Twenty-three million families in the U.S. will have bigger internet bills starting in May. That’s because a federal broadband subsidy program they’re enrolled in is nearly out of money. Dozens of people joined Biden administration officials, advocates and Sen.

ECFiber customers in danger of losing a $30 monthly credit on their bill as the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) expires will receive a one-month extension directly from ECFiber. The decision was made by the executive committee in hopes that the ACP program funding will be replenished by congressional action in the coming weeks. “We can move quickly because we are a small community-oriented ISP,” said committee member Irv Thomae, who chaired ECFiber for many years, “but we cannot provide this support on our own for very long.” ECFiber has also been enhancing the ACP benefit by

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is reminding Wisconsin residents that, due to congressional inaction, the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is currently winding down, and no further ACP payments will be provided after the month of May. Initial ACP funding made available in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has almost run out. Unless Congress provides additional funding for the program, the ACP is set to expire soon. A replacement for the ACP does not currently exist.

Many state broadband directors are keeping their fingers crossed that all the areas eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rural broadband funding receive bids. But it’s a particularly big challenge for New Mexico, as the state’s broadband director Drew Lovelace explained. “New Mexico hits a trifecta of challenges in geography, size, and rurality. A lot of states have one or two of these, we have all three,” said Lovelace. New Mexico is the fifth largest state in land mass, but only 36th in population.

 There are several important changes to the broadband industry that came out of our collective pandemic experience.

Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY-22) led a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in support of replenished funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP is in the process of winding down in the absence of congressional funding, and beneficiaries will completely lose their discount after May 2024. In light of the widespread, positive impact that the ACP has had on expanding access to this vital tool, the representatives urge immediate action to secure short-term funding for this program.