The Affordable Connectivity Program ("ACP") is running out of money. ACP, introduced during the COVID pandemic, provides discounts on internet services (up to $30 per month) and connected devices (up to $100) for low income families. ACP is currently serving nearly 23 million households nationwide. Although ACP is not an E-rate program, it has been promoted by some schools and libraries as an alternative to, or as a means of extending, the ECF program. Without renewed funding, ACP will not last beyond April or May of this year.
Last week, the FCC issued an ACP Fact Sheet stressing the need for Congressional action to extend the life of the program and that, given the absence of new funding, the FCC is beginning to take steps to start winding down the program.
The Administration had already asked Congress for additional $6 billion in ACP funds to carry the program through 2024. FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel reiterated this request last week in letters to eight Senate and House committee and subcommittee chairpersons and ranking members indicating that, due to a lack of funding, the FCC was about to take steps to:
- Offer guidance to ACP providers on the timing and requirements for notifying participating households on the projected end of ACP;
- Announce a date for stopping the enrollment of new households into ACP; and
- Formally determine the projected end date of the program.
By Thursday, the FCC had issued its first order (DA 24-23) on the initial steps in the wind-down process. Most immediately, as summarized in a USAC release the same day, service providers must send a first notice to ACP subscribers by January 25th advising them of the program's possible termination. New ACP enrollments will stop being accepted February 7th.
As a reprieve for ACP, albeit temporary, a bipartisan bill entitled the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act was introduced in the both the House and Senate last Wednesday that, if enacted, would keep ACP funded, at least throughout 2024, through an additional $7 billion appropriation. With Congress still deadlocked on other budget matters and with near term government shutdowns still possible this month and/or next, it is hard to envision the timely passage of the ACP Extension Act, even if broadly supported, within the shutdown process now underway.
For schools and libraries, the demise of the ACP program may be offset — but with less funding — by the FCC's proposed hotspot loan program. Initial comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") to provide E-rate funding for Wi-Fi hotspots and services for students and library patrons are due tomorrow, January 16th (see our newsletter of November 13th).