UPDATE Affordable Connectivity Program funding is expected to last through April 2024, running out completely in May, barring further congressional appropriations. Without funding to continue, this broadband connectivity program must stop accepting new enrollments as of February 7, the FCC has determined.
The Commission details the wind-down of the ACP in an Order. By January 25, broadband providers will send an initial notice to their ACP subscribers that previews the possible end of the broadband affordability program and the impact on the households’ broadband bills once the ACP benefit is no longer available.
“We have successfully connected millions upon millions of households to broadband services. The bipartisan Infrastructure Law established a historic and unquestionably successful program to make broadband affordable, and we now appear on the brink of letting that success slip away,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
“Disconnecting millions of families from their jobs, schools, markets, and information is not the solution. We have come too far with the ACP to turn back,” she said.
The bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act was introduced in Congress last week, Inside Towers reported. If adopted, the legislation would provide $7 billion for the ACP, which Rosenworcel welcomed.
The agency anticipates ACP will only have partial funding in May 2024. After the FCC announces the official final month of ACP funding, ISPs must send at least two more notices to households informing them that the program is ending and how and when the end of the ACP will impact their bill. ISPs must also tell those households they may opt-out of continuing service after the end of the ACP or change their service.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez is “dismayed that the Commission finds itself with no choice but to initiate the wind down process. A loss of funding will mean a loss of trust in this public-private partnership that could squander this opportunity to close the digital divide.” She commended Rosenworcel’s “good stewardship of these vital funds” and is “heartened” to see the ACP funding extension measure introduced into Congress.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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