Affordable Connectivity Program (was Emergency Broadband Benefit Program)

Subsidies like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are unaffordable and set communities up for failure, according to Eric Sasaki, the manager of major programs at L.A. County’s internal services department. To address the digital divide in Los Angeles County, Sasaki said the county has chosen another path. “We were very flexible in terms of how we approached our model,” Sasaki said.

When millions of Americans cast their ballots on Election Day, the Affordable Connectivity Program won't be up for a vote, but the results could dictate whether we see an internet subsidy of its size again. The ACP was passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when Congress dedicated $14.2 billion to making the internet more affordable to low-income users.

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.

The Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission has entered into a Consent Decree to resolve its investigations into whether AT&T violated the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) rules. To settle these matters, AT&T agrees to a total settlement value of $2,299,990 to fully resolve the FCC’s investigations, which includes (i) a civil penalty of $1,921,068, and (ii) repayment to the United States Treasury in the amount of $378,922.

The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) put the kibosh on the business plans of internet service providers (ISPs) working to tackle the urban digital divide. I’m aware of a several ISPs working to bring broadband to neighborhoods where the majority of customers qualified for the $30 ACP discount.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) says she will build an Opportunity Economy where everyone has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead. Renewing the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is part of that agenda. Earlier this year, Congress failed to allocate funding for ACP and made monthly broadband bills more expensive for 23 million households enrolled in the program.

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his ticket's plans to improve the lives of rural voters, as Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) looks to cut into Donald Trump's (R-FL) support. The Harris-Walz plan calls on Congress to permanently extend telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that helped millions access care that is set to expire at the end of 2024.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP:

Nebraska is aiming to connect 99 percent of homes and businesses with reliable and affordable high-speed internet access by 2027. Based on June 2023 data, 12-15 percent of Nebraska’s locations are unserved or underserved, and approximately 105,000 households lack acceptable access to the internet. An unfavorable business case for investment, especially in rural areas, has resulted in limited access.

Let’s discuss the current Broadband Policy State of Play and how the election may affect it. There are four fundamental goals of broadband policy: