Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

After scrapping a California LifeLine proposal on the state low-income program’s interaction with federal support (see 2210040037), the California Public Utilities Commission sought comment Friday on a possible pilot for using federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds. It would “test an approach to providing a bundled service plan that includes voice service and sufficient wireline or wireless broadband service to meet household needs,” said the ruling by Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma in docket R.20-02-008. Pilot participants could “stack” up to $17.90 monthly of the California LifeLine specific support amount with the $30 ACP discount and $9.25 federal Lifeline subsidy for plans that meet the pilot criteria, it said. All state LifeLine participants who meet ACP and federal Lifeline eligibility criteria would be eligible for the pilot, it said. Comments are due Nov. 30, with replies due Dec. 30.

More than 1 million New York households enrolled in the federal affordable connectivity program, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Wednesday. About 30% of eligible New York households subscribe, the governor’s office said. With ACP and “and a multi-agency outreach effort in New York State, we're connecting more eligible households to broadband subsidies than anywhere else in the nation,” Hochul said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau waived provisions of the E-rate, Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rural Health Care, COVID-19 Telehealth, Lifeline, and Affordable Connectivity Program rules for participants and USF contributors in Puerto Rico due to damage from Hurricane Fiona, said an order Thursday. The order includes extensions for E-rate, Rural Health Care and ECF deadlines, waivers of document retention rules for records destroyed by Hurricane Fiona, and increased flexibility for service substitutions. It also waives Lifeline non-usage, recertification and reverification requirements and ACP recertification and de-enrollment requirements for subscribers in Puerto Rico. “Given the damage caused by Hurricane Fiona to Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, strict compliance with these rules would be impracticable and would risk harm” to subscribers, the order said. The order also waives some USF requirements for affected contributors. “The extensive damage to property and facilities caused by Hurricane Fiona has rendered many providers unable to serve the Affected Disaster Areas.” The FCC disaster information reporting system showed 26.4% of cellsites down Thursday, and 703,576 wireline subscribers without service, compared with 741,451 Wednesday. The report shows five FM stations and four AM stations still out of service and no public safety access points down.

To close the digital literacy gap and maximize federal dollars for increasing broadband access, programs and institutions need to focus on local solutions, existing community programs, and community anchor institutions like libraries, said numerous panelists at the FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council’s virtual Digital Skills Gap Symposium and Town Hall Thursday. The symposium is intended to help inform the CEDC’s efforts to create a national plan and toolkit for digital upskilling in connection with the Digital Equity Act, said CEDC Chair Heather Gate.

The FCC will release a notice of funding opportunity “in the coming months” for organizations seeking funding through the affordable connectivity program’s outreach grant program, said Derik Goatson, Office of Native Affairs Policy legal adviser, during a Consumer Action webinar Tuesday (see 2208050023). The grant program’s review process will “prioritize applicants who target underserved low-income households and communities with low ACP enrollment rates,” Goatson said, noting “many of these communities are often tribal communities.”

The FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC) and the Media Bureau will host a Digital Skills Gap Symposium and Town Hall starting at noon Sept. 22, said a public notice Monday. The virtual event is intended to “examine the issues and challenges that states and localities face in addressing the need for greater adoption of digital skills training,” the PN said. The symposium will include a panel discussion on the “Digital Equity Act (DEA), the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and other efforts to address access to broadband,” the PN said. The event will also feature a town hall discussion on “how to build the case for equity and diversity as the foundation for eliminating America’s digital skills gap” and other topics related to providing access to digital skills training.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called for more action to "safeguard" affordable connectivity program funding following Thursday's Office of Inspector General memorandum identifying fraudulent enrollment (see 2209080036). "I have not been alone in expressing concern," Carr said Friday: “Whatever we are doing to deter this type of fraud is not working."

The FCC Office of Inspector General warned providers against fraudulently enrolling households in the affordable connectivity program based on a benefit qualifying person (BQP) in a memorandum Thursday. The office identified 12 BQPs that were used more than 100 times to enroll households each, collecting "more than $1.4 million in connection with those enrollments alone." In one case, the office identified three providers that claimed more than $365,000 from more than 1,000 enrollments based on a single BQP. "Providers who continue to seek program support each month after failing to properly train and monitor their sales agents’ enrollment activity will be held accountable," said Inspector General David Hunt. The Universal Service Administrative Co. has "development work" underway on the national verifier regarding ACP enrollment to "prevent multiple households from enrolling" with the same BQP, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 21-450. USAC also "instituted a process for holding payments to limit the amount of potentially improper payments disbursed" and is de-enrolling households that enrolled in ACP using the same BQP.

The FCC's rules for its affordable connectivity outreach grant program are effective Nov. 7, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Rules for an ACP pilot program to boost enrollment among federal public housing recipients are effective Tuesday. Commissioners approved the items in August (see 2208050023).

The Communications Workers of America partnered with Microsoft at a "community Labor Day festival in Atlanta" and other cities to boost enrollment in the FCC's affordable connectivity program, the union said Thursday. CWA and Microsoft will "work with local public housing authorities and other community partners" to promote ACP and pre-qualify households. The union said providers offering no-cost broadband plans to ACP enrollees will also be on site. “CWA members have a longstanding commitment to making sure that every household in America has reliable high-speed internet service," said President Chris Shelton. Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company is "glad to be working with CWA to bring more broadband access to more Americans" through ACP.