Sens Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), JD Vance (R-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023 to strengthen the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), complete the equipment removal of China-based companies, Huawei and ZTE, and allow the Federal Communications Commission to reauction certain spectrum licenses to create more responsive networks for consumers. Access to broadband provides vital connections to education, health care and economic opportunity. The Affordable Connectivity Program, which currently helps more than 23 million households connect to affordable broadband, will expire in May without congressional action. The proposed amendment:

• Provides an additional $3.08 billion to the “rip and replace program” in the Secure and Trusted Communications Act of 2019
• Provides $6 billion to the Affordable Connectivity Program and modernizes eligibility and verification to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse
• Requires the FCC to reauction certain spectrum licenses for unassigned spectrum that the Commission has previously auctioned

On behalf of The National Domestic Violence Hotline, we write to request robust additional funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Access to affordable high-speed internet is not a luxury in 2024. This ACP is the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history which has successfully allowed more than 23 million households to get—and stay—connected to robust broadband service at home. This includes vulnerable populations such as victims of domestic violence and survivors of other forms of gender-based abuse who are often isolated, experience many forms of economic abuse and depend on seeking critically needed assistance via access to the internet. The ACP represents a huge step forward in closing the digital divide for our nation’s most vulnerable populations in urban, rural and Tribal communities. Without additional funding for the program, we stand to backslide on that progress and directly impact the safety of thousands of victims of domestic violence. We cannot let these vulnerable individuals and families lose their vital connections merely because Congress failed to provide critically needed funding to continue this successful program.

In 2021, Los Angeles County leaders decided they wanted to close the digital divide in some underserved areas. So, the county issued a request for proposal, soliciting bids from broadband providers. Surprisingly, WeLink, a relatively unknown fixed wireless access (FWA) provider, won the contract, beating out incumbents such as AT&T and Charter Communications. On May 7, LA County issued a press release, saying it had signed a historic public-private partnership with WeLink to bring high-speed internet to areas impacted by the digital divide. WeLink will bring FWA to as many as 275,000 households and businesses across 68 square miles in East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles. WeLink CEO Luke Langford said the process in LA County was a bit unusual for WeLink because it’s a public-private partnerships where the county will be contributing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the project and also some monies from a California Public Utilities Commission program. He declined to say how much LA is contributing, but estimates the project will cost “many tens of millions of dollars.”