FCC Announces Additional Program Integrity Measures for Affordable Connectivity Program Enrollments

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announces that it is implementing additional measures to strengthen program integrity surrounding the enrollment of households in the Affordable Connectivity Program based on a Benefit Qualifying Person (BQP). First, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has underway development work to make necessary changes to prevent improper enrollment in the National Verifier system, specifically to strengthen and improve the detection of instances where multiple households attempt to enroll in the program using the same BQP. Second USAC has already increased program integrity reviews related to enrollments based on a BQP. As a result of this work, USAC has instituted a process for holding payments to limit the amount of potentially improper payments disbursed. USAC is also identifying and de-enrolling households that enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program based on the same BQP as another household that enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program.