FCC Announces Major ACP Provider Voluntarily Repaid Nearly $50 Million, Issues Advisory Provider Compliance With Program Rules

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that, following its investigation, a major Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provider has voluntarily repaid $49.4 million that it improperly claimed between June 2021 and July 2022. The provider disclosed its improper claims and repaid the monies after OIG sent the provider a warning letter and requested that the provider explain its claims data which indicated noncompliance with program usage requirements. Ninety percent (or $44.5 million) of the improper claims disclosed by the provider were related to low-income households that were not using the service as required by FCC program rules. In total, the provider repaid approximately one-third of the program disbursements it received for providing ACP service between June 2021 and July 2022. Further, as a result of this recovery and additional work, the FCC OIG issued an accompanying advisory to describe its concern that program data indicates dozens of other ACP providers are likely not complying with FCC usage and related de-enrollments rules. OIG encourages all ACP providers to examine their usage monitoring procedures, fully disclose any deficiencies to the FCC and our office and promptly repay any improperly claimed funds. Otherwise, OIG will target suspected offenders for investigation and appropriate legal sanctions, including criminal prosecution.