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Ten Things About ACP that Ted Cruz Cares About

#10 What Companies Care About the Affordable Connectivity Program?

We're sharing ten questions about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) that Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked New Street Research Policy Advisor and Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Blair Levin testified after a hearing entitled The Future of Broadband Affordability.

10. Your written testimony noted various affiliations. Which companies that receive ACP have you or your employers received funding from since the program’s inception?

As noted in my testimony, my views are my personal views and do not represent any institution in which I am affiliated. In terms of employment, I am an equity analyst with New Street Research, a global equity research firm focused on telecommunications, tech, and media. All my work at New Street Research is paid for by institutional investors, none of whom receive any ACP funding. Over 96% of New Street Research revenues are from institutional investors. While checking to make sure I was correct in my assumption that none of New Street’s compensation comes from entities receiving ACP funding, I discovered that New Street has done a consulting project for an entity that does receive ACP dollars. The project was not related to ACP, and I did not work on the project, nor was I aware of it. The project involved a sum that was approximately 0.11 % of the firm’s revenues.

Let me also note that the question—perhaps unintentionally—carries the subtle suggestion that the only enterprises that care about the ACP are the ones who have received funding from the program since the program’s inception. While it is true that telecommunications providers support continuing the program, so do many organizations outside of telecommunications. For example—and in support of what I wrote in the several questions related to healthcare, the American Hospital Association wrote a letter to the several Senators in support of extending the ACP program. While they are not directly compensated through the ACP program, it wrote that ACP “can support patients’ access to certain services like telehealth visits, hospital at home, patient portals and electronic patient records, virtual scheduling, and remote patient monitoring — which are not possible without reliable internet.” It further noted that the ACP is “also critical in continuing efforts to reduce disparities and advance health equity by giving patients in rural and underserved areas the necessary resources to utilize various forms of telehealth, as well as other digital health services.” Similarly, the United States Chamber of Commerce (along with many local Chambers of Commerce) endorsed the ACP extension, writing that the “program’s focus on internet affordability serves as a critical tool to help connect all Americans, empower full participation in the 21^st Century economy and broaden access to critical services such as education, healthcare and banking."

In short, no one should be under the impression that the only companies who benefit from the ACP are telecommunications providers. As my testimony and answers to these questions, I hope, make clear, at this point, everyone benefits from universal adoption of broadband.

Let me close by again thanking the Committee for the opportunity to share my views on this important topic and thanking the Senator for the opportunity to answer specific questions that my initial testimony raised. I hope the answers are helpful in leading to an efficient and sustainable policy for enabling all to afford broadband on a continuing basis.

Blair Levin is the Policy Advisor to New Street Research and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Metro. Prior to joining New Street, Blair served as Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt (1993-1997), directed the writing of the United States National Broadband Plan (2009-2010), and was a policy analyst for the equity research teams at Legg Mason and Stif Nicolaus. Levin is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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Benton Institute
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