Low-income

States and the federal government may agree that the expansion of broadband service around the country funded with $42.5 billion from the infrastructure act should be affordable for low-income people. But at least one state doesn’t agree that it should be dictating what’s affordable. After reviewing Virginia’s plan for its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funding, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration told the state it needed to be more specific.

America’s Communications Association (ACA Connects), the Rural Broadband Association (NTCA), and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) issued a joint statement to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to exclude smaller and rural broadband providers from its new digital discrimination rules, citing a lack of evidence they engage in discrimination where they build and calling into question the FCC’s legal authority to impose the rules. The organizations argued that the 

The Federal Communications Commission is poised to raise taxes through its Universal Service Fund—a regressive, hidden tax on consumers' phone bills that funds a series of unaccountable, bloated internet subsidy programs. Rather than giving the FCC carte blanche to expand its balance sheet, Congress must reform the USF's structural problems, reevaluate its component programs, and get the FCC's spending under control. Here is my plan to do that. 

The Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act provides a total of $68.537 billion in discretionary funding.  The bill provides $10.8 billion for the Department of Commerce.

April will officially be the last full month for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) due to insufficient funding. The FCC will let providers know soon about the amount to expect per customer in May, leaving the providers with a choice to make. Should they end their participation in the program after April? Should they pass on a partial benefit to customers for May and require the customers to pay the extra portion?

This white paper ultimately represents the story of how our newly formed office found an efficient and effective way to address the digital divide in our community through the development of a novel local benefit program, as told by our associate Augusta Groeschel-Johnson.

The Federal Communications Commission formally notified Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) providers that, due to a lack of additional funding from Congress, the agency will only be able to fully fund the program through the month of April. The Public Notice also (1) provides guidance on the May 2024 partial reimbursement month; (2) reminds participating providers of the notices they must send to ACP households; and (3) provides guidance on the consumer protections for ACP households during wind-down and after the ACP ends.

23,269,550. This was the number of households participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) when enrollment closed on February 8th, 2024. It is more than one out of every six households in the United States. But 23,269,550 is also a very high precipice from which to fall. If the ACP ends, all enrollees will experience some combination of bill shock, disconnections, financial sacrifice, service downgrades, and/or household debt.

All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. This is a milestone moment in closing the digital divide. For the first time in our nation’s history, each state will have a plan to connect communities with the resources they need to achieve digital equity. That’s never been true before, and it’s an exciting indicator of how far we’ve come as a nation in acknowledging and addressing this challenge.

In the final days of 2020, Congress approved a COVID-relief package that included $3.2 billion for the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to help households that were struggling to afford broadband. The program was up-and-running by spring, and the public’s response was overwhelming. It immediately became clear that demand for this program was going to outlast the pandemic, and Congress responded with a longer-term solution to the broadband affordability challenge.