The National Lifeline Association condemned a proposed decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to reduce California LifeLine subsidies when total federal monthly support applied to a LifeLine plan is more than $9.25. The CPUC may vote on the proposal at its Aug. 25 meeting (see 2207070048). The CPUC should reject the draft “and instead adopt an order that respects and empowers those needing vital broadband access by enabling them to combine California LifeLine, federal Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefits so that they may choose more robust service plans that are only made affordable through the combination of these benefits,” NaLA commented Wednesday in docket R.20-02-008. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires ACP providers to let households apply ACP to any internet service offered by providers, said the association: Under the draft, an ACP discount couldn’t be applied to a wireless service. CalTel and other small RLECs raised concerns that the proposal “overlooks the circumstances of rural providers.” The proposal’s “categorical exclusion of the [specific service amount] from plans that receive $25.48 in federal support is unsupported by the record and contrary to public policy,” they said. The CPUC proposal got support from The Utility Reform Network and Center for Accessible Technology, which jointly commented that the draft “discourages a profit windfall but facilitates robust plans for LifeLine subscribers.” The proposal doesn’t affect providers’ ability to comply with the FCC’s ACP order, the consumer groups said.
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
What is the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)?
The Affordable Connectivity Program was a recently expired subsidy for low-income households to lower the cost of purchasing broadband internet and connected devices. The program was signed into law as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and administered by the FCC up until June 1, 2024, due to expiration of the ACP’s funding.
Will the ACP Return?
Congress continues to debate restoring ACP funding, with immediate next steps likely to come from the Senate Commerce Committee or Congressional discussions on revising the Universal Service Fund.
Industry groups asked the FCC to streamline its rules for its annual data collection of subscription rates and plans offered through the affordable connectivity program (ACP). Some said the FCC should rely on the forthcoming broadband consumer labels and raised privacy concerns if data is collected at the subscriber level in comments posted Tuesday in docket 21-450.
The Michigan Public Service Commission is preparing for telcos to opt out of the state Lifeline program later this year due to a 2020 state law. Providers may give customers 90 days' notice starting Aug. 30. “There’s always worries” about customers who may be using the state discount, but the number of customers receiving the discount is “very small and continuing to diminish pretty drastically,” and getting people enrolled in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program (ACP) could have bigger impact, Commissioner Tremaine Phillips told us last week at the NARUC meeting in San Diego.
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the FCC’s affordable connectivity program during an event Thursday in Charlotte and urged more people to enroll. NARUC passed a resolution Wednesday seeking more connections between the national verifier and state databases and urging state and federal agencies to collaborate on more outreach (see 2207200008). “We created this program because we know when we connect folks with high-speed internet, it is also a connection to opportunity … to live a healthier, happier and more prosperous life and importantly more affordable lives every month,” Harris said. ACP “saves working families over” $250 million. “About 13 million people are enrolled and these are students who can now study at their kitchen table instead of in the parking lot of a local fast-food restaurant, which is what so many of our students did, especially during the height of the” COVID-19 pandemic," she said: “The people who will benefit include parents who used to rely on their cellphone data plan to connect the whole family, which can be incredibly expensive. And now those families can stream and search and study on Wi-Fi” for free. “We need state and local governments to drive enrollment every way they know how” and “I know that” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) “is already hard at work on this front,” Harris said.
SAN DIEGO -- State utility regulators passed a resolution meant to increase affordable connectivity program (ACP) enrollment. The NARUC board adopted the resolution Wednesday after it cleared the Telecom Committee in a unanimous vote Tuesday at the association’s summer meeting. Intensifying economic factors make programs like ACP critical, said committee Chairman Tremaine Phillips in an interview.
SAN DIEGO -- The FCC could open its challenge process for new broadband maps in October, said Consumer and Governmental Affairs Chief Alejandro Roark on a Tuesday panel at NARUC’s summer meeting. Utility commissioners must weigh in on state broadband talks even if they’re led by other agencies, said former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on a Monday panel about NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.
SAN DIEGO -- States could speed 5G deployment by harmonizing rules for accessing poles and power, state commission staffers were told Sunday by wireless infrastructure industry officials at NARUC’s summer meeting. Meanwhile, the Telecom Staff Subcommittee cleared a resolution meant to increase affordable connectivity program (ACP) enrollment (see 2207080016).
As it looks to open up the 17 GHz band to geostationary orbit fixed satellite service downlinks, the FCC is also eyeing allowing using the band for non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service downlinks, according to a draft order and NPRM on the agency's Aug. 5 meeting agenda. The draft items released Friday also include a draft order establishing an outreach grant for the affordable connectivity program and a draft order creating a one-year pilot program aimed at boosting enrollment among households receiving federal housing assistance.
Altice boosted the download speeds of its Affordable Connectivity Program broadband service from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps, the cable ISP said Thursday. ACP-eligible homes can receive the 300 Mbps service at no cost after the program’s up to $30 monthly credit is applied, said Altice.
The FCC's August meeting will have a vote on establishing an outreach grant for the affordable connectivity program and allowing geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite service downlinks in the 17.3-17.8 GHz band, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel blogged Thursday. Also on the agenda are consideration of a one-year pilot program, -- Your Home, Your Internet -- which aims to boost enrollment among households receiving federal housing assistance, and the possible launch of an inquiry into in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing, plus an Enforcement Bureau item and a Media Bureau adjudication, she said. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gave the FCC authority to allocate ACP funding for outreach, a change from the emergency broadband benefit program that many advocacy groups sought. The FCC sought comment on how it should establish the grant program earlier this year. Many groups sought flexibility in eligibility and how awards would be made (see 2206130052). “We’re making sure people know about affordable ways to get connected," Rosenworcel said. The FCC unanimously approved an NPRM on GSO downlinks in the 17 GHz band (see 2011180043) in 2020, though wireless interests raised concerns about proposed co-primary operations in the band (see 2103040041). Rosenworcel said the item would also seek comment on opening this opportunity to more satellites. People receiving federal housing assistance too often "find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide," she said, and the Your Home, Your Internet pilot “offers a unique opportunity to help them get online.” Commissioner Geoffrey Starks led the initiative to establish the pilot.