FCC prepares to wind down Affordable Connectivity Program

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will take steps this week to begin winding down the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) unless additional funding is confirmed, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a letter to legislators.

“If Congress does not provide additional funding for the ACP in the near future, millions of households will lose the ACP benefit that they use to afford internet service,” she wrote.

“More funding is urgently needed to keep the ACP in place, so that it can continue to support the households that rely on it and reach others that may be on the wrong side of the digital divide.”

Almost 23 million households have enrolled in the scheme, which launched at the end of 2021 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with a budget of US$14.2 billion. It provides eligible low-income households with a US$30 per month discount on internet services.

Rosenworcel said that the remaining funding is insufficient to provide the ACP to consumers beyond April this year. In October, the White House made a request to Congress for US$6 billion to continue the ACP until the end of the calendar year but no additional funding has yet been announced.

Around 1,700 internet service providers would be affected by the termination of the ACP and “may cut off service to households no longer supported by the programme,” Rosenworcel warned.

She added that losing the ACP would undermine the US$42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

In jeopardy

Rosenworcel wrote that without additional funding, “the Commission expects to begin taking steps this week to start orderly wind-down procedures to give participating providers, households and other stakeholders sufficient time to prepare for the projected end of the ACP.”

This would include issuing guidance to broadband providers on notifying participating households about the projected end to the programme.

The FCC would set a cut-off date for enrolling new households into the ACP. It would also determine an overall end date for the programme and provide notice and information to facilitate the closure.

“The ACP is in jeopardy and, absent additional funding, we could lose the significant progress this programme has made towards closing the digital divide,” Rosenworcel said. “Yet we have come too far with the ACP to turn back. Accordingly, the Commission stands ready to assist Congress with any efforts to fully fund the ACP into the future.”

In March, the FCC awarded US$66 million in grants to almost 200 US cities and community groups to drive enrolment in the ACP and an additional US$7.5 million for two pilot programmes to test outreach methods to boost uptake of the scheme.