Broadband builders say next version of ACP should have no sunset

Broadband is one of the last remaining, truly bipartisan issues, according to Chip Pickering, the CEO of Incompas. Pickering said there might be a movement in Congress to restore and modernize broadband subsidies to help low-income earners afford services. “It is a national consensus and commitment of connecting every American,” said Pickering, who also served for 12 years in Congress representing Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district. Pickering said direct appropriations could be an answer to modernizing the Universal Service Fund, which has come under siege in recent court rulings, and he held out hope for a renewed effort to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Brian Worthen, the CEO of Visionary Communications, elaborated on the need for a program like the ACP to exist. “You can’t, as a provider, build entirely to low-income areas because your take rate is 10, 15, 20 percent less than a more affluent area,” he said.