Small Broadband Providers and the Affordable Connectivity Program

Several small broadband providers are having trouble navigating the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Care Program (ACP). They are wondering if they should drop their participation. There is no one major specific complaint about the administration of the program but a string of problems. The ACP rules are overly complex. There doesn’t seem to be any training available to providers joining the program. The ACP system returns unhelpful error messages when something doesn’t work. Why are these kinds of issues problematic for smaller providers? Bigger companies can assign a team to a program like this and give the teams enough time to figure out the nuances. Small providers have tiny staffs, particularly in the backoffice. Small providers can’t devote the many hours and days needed to solve the ACP puzzle.