A conservative case for the Affordable Connectivity Program

Unfortunately, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is set to run out of funds as soon as early 2024. For conservatives who are rightly concerned about traditional government subsidies, I humbly suggest that extending the ACP by appropriating additional funds for the program is well within our economic principles, even when we absolutely must shrink overall federal spending. As a committed conservative with a long history on communications policy, let me explain. First, there is bi-partisan agreement that access to broadband can be a key tool for citizen self-sufficiency and upward social mobility, and because of this, ensuring every American has access is a national policy priority. Second, broadband adoption reduces governmental costs to function and opens doors for businesses. Lastly, let’s recognize that American poverty is not isolated to urban areas but distributed throughout our country in so-called Red areas and Blue ones. The opportunity gap resulting from unequal broadband access impacts all regions. ACP is our best solution to address broadband affordability so far.

[Michael O’Rielly served as Federal Communications Commission Commissioner from 2015 to 2020.]