The Future of Affordable Broadband: Life after the Affordable Connectivity Program

What can be done for the 23 million households that relied on the Affordable Connectivity Program? The Federal Communications Commission could start a proceeding to increase the amount of money in the USF so that it can fund an ACP-like subsidy. It has the power under the Communications Act, it has a consistent funding source, and it has a reason with the ACP’s expiration—an event former FCC Chief of Staff Blair Levin describes as the “biggest step any country has ever taken to widen, rather than close, its digital divide.” Given all this, why doesn’t the FCC act? Two words: contribution reform. You see, the USF has one fundamental flaw: it’s funded solely through that fee on phone service. This is a problem because people are shifting from phone-based communications to broadband-based communications, and as they do, phone-based revenue for USF is drying up. Thus, the USF is barely able to support its existing programs, much less take on an ambitious project like funding a $30-a-month broadband subsidy. The FCC could fix this problem by applying the USF fee to broadband services. Doing this would increase the USF’s revenue base and allow it to address the looming ACP emergency.  But it is also controversial—particularly to cable companies who pay very little into the fund. Unfortunately, the FCC largely shut down this option a few weeks ago when it chose to forbear from applying USF fees to broadband providers.

[Gigi Sohn is Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband and Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate]