Saving the ACP: A Commitment to Connectivity

The US Congress faces an imminent decision about the future of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and the connectivity it delivers to 23 million households. When it comes to low-income and hard-to-reach households, policymakers have long understood that federal support is necessary to help close the digital divide. The ACP is the federal government’s concrete commitment to ‘walk its talk’ and put real resources behind its long-stated goal of universal connectivity. Which is why in the short term, Congress needs to summon the wisdom and the courage to act now to provide immediate bridge funding to save the ACP. For the longer term, Congress should carefully consider advancing a financially responsible, and self-sustaining solution: moving the ACP into a modernized, right-sized Universal Service Fund. Congress can close the affordability gap by requiring Big Tech—the primary financial beneficiaries of universal connectivity—to also contribute to this shared national goal. Universal connectivity is within our grasp. But it requires all stakeholders to join with America’s telecommunications providers and do their part. It should be the great hope of everyone who believes in this vital national goal that they will do so.

[Jonathan Spalter is the President and CEO of USTelecom]