Efforts to reform federal broadband subsidy gain traction

As lawmakers debate funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that would change the program in an effort to win more support for it and possibly improve its long-term viability. A group of senators introduced legislation that would revise eligibility criteria, among other things. The compromise is seen as necessary to win over skeptics of the program. It was added as an amendment to a larger bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. The amendment, which ultimately did not get tacked on to FAA reauthorization, would have significantly cut the cost of the ACP by tweaking its eligibility criteria. The legislation would lower the income threshold to 135 percent of the federal poverty line, down from the current threshold of 200 percent. The legislation would also eliminate the ACP’s one-time $100 discount on a device, and mandate that the Federal Communications Commission implement anti-fraud and performance measures for the program.