In letters to congressional leaders dated January 8, 2024, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel warned that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a broadband-service subsidy relied upon by over 22 million lower-income households, is projected to run out of money at some point in April of this year.
Established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, the ACP provides eligible households with between $30 and $75 per month to be applied toward (and which, in many instances, covers) a monthly broadband subscription from the participating Internet service provider (ISP) of their choice. Absent additional congressional action, the ACP will end when the hefty initial appropriation – $14.2 billion – is depleted.
As Free State Foundation President Randolph May noted approvingly in an October 2022 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, the ACP "enables millions of lower-income consumers to participate on a relatively equal footing in the competitive marketplace for high-speed Internet access." He therefore called for Congress to "extend and revise" the ACP, specifically by "target[ing] its limited resources to those most in need."
And as I have pointed out in a series of posts to the FSF Blog, the ACP enjoys bipartisan support.
According to Chairwoman Rosenworcel, "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."
Those actions will include: (1) providing ISPs with "guidance on the timing and requirements for notifying participating households," (2) setting a date after which no additional households may enroll, and, ultimately, (3) formally determining a date certain for the program's termination.
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