FCC Begins the Transition of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program into the Affordable Connectivity Program

On November 18, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau released a public notice seeking public comment on how to modify and extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to a longer-term broadband affordability program: the Affordable Connectivity Program. In the recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress directed the FCC to make a number of changes to the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program by December 31, 2021 (a number of changes will also occur in early 2022). Therefore, the public has little time to weigh in on these changes: initial comments are due Wednesday, December 8, and reply comments are due Tuesday, December 28. The Affordable Connectivity Program will retain the basic structure of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, with some changes. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act both removes and adds certain qualifying eligibility programs and changes the benefit level—from $50/month in the current Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to $30/month in the longer-term Affordable Connectivity Program. For the over 7 million Emergency Broadband Benefit Program participants, all of whom are new to the program which launched just last May, Congress has created a 60-day transition period beginning on December 31: During the transition, anyone who was eligible for and signed up for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program remains eligible and will continue to receive a subsidy of up to $50/month until March 2022. Here we summarize how the FCC is proposing to fulfill the mandates of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the input the commission seeks from interested parties.