FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel to Congress: Absent Additional Funding, Affordable Connectivity Program Will End in April

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.

In October 2023, the Biden Administration asked Congress to appropriate sufficient funding to extend the ACP through the end of 2024: $6 billion. Chairwoman Rosenworcel's letters echoed that request, as did a White House Fact Sheet released the same day.

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.

Randolph May's Statement on President Biden's FCC Nominations

Press Release
October 26, 2021
Contact: Randolph May at 202-285-9926

Free State Foundation President Randolph May issued the following statement regarding President Biden's nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Gigi Sohn to FCC seats:

“I congratulate Jessica Rosenworcel upon her nomination to continue to serve as an FCC commissioner and her appointment to chair the Commission. And I congratulate Gigi Sohn on her nomination to serve as a commissioner. Gigi has participated as a speaker at many Free State Foundation events over the years, and I’ve always welcomed the opportunity for FSF to provide a platform for the presentation of her views. We always have been, and always will be, a forum that values respectful discussion and debate.

If they are confirmed by the Senate, I’m certain that Free State Foundation scholars will not always agree with Chairman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Sohn on the issues, especially with regard to proposals to maintain or impose regulation of communications and information service providers, and the media, in the absence of convincing evidence of market failure or consumer harm. In today’s marketplace environment, there should be a deregulatory rebuttable presumption. And it is important for the FCC to acknowledge that we live in an age of media abundance, not media scarcity. This too, along with the need to be cognizant of the First Amendment's free speech guarantee, suggests the need for application of a deregulatory presumption when considering media ownership regulation and regulatory proposals.

If the Commission looks to the existence or not of market failure and consumer harm as guideposts in considering regulatory issues, along with fidelity to the law, it will promote innovation and investment, and overall consumer welfare, along with the nation’s social and economic well-being. That’s the course we’ll be advocating, with respect, if the Commission is reconstituted."