A sprawling infrastructure bill passed by Congress earlier this month grabbed headlines for setting aside $65 billion for broadband. Now, it seems the hard work of getting that money out the door has begun.
While the bulk of the funding ($42.45 billion) allocated by the bill will go to the states for broadband grant programs, $14.2 billion has been dedicated to making an existing broadband subsidy program run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permanent.
The FCC is now calling on interested parties to weigh in on the mechanics of handling the transition from the current Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program to the new Affordable Connectivity program (ACP).
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It laid out a variety of proposals and questions related to operator participation, consumer enrollment and service and device benefits in a 65-page public notice. Among other things, the FCC:
- Sought feedback on a proposal which would allow service providers who participated in the EBB to participate in the ACP without having to submit a completely new application.
- Asked whether providers should be required to submit fresh “election notices” detailing where they operate, what broadband services they offer, how much those cost and whether they intend to offer subsidized devices as part of the program.
- Asked whether it has the authority to institute minimum service standards for plans which receive ACP support, and if so, whether it should do so. It also asked whether it should require operators to start providing benefits within a certain amount of time after a subscriber enrolls.
- Sought comment on whether consumers who received a subsidized connected device through the EBB should be allowed to receive one under the ACP. It also asked whether it should adopt minimum device system requirements to ensure they are adequate for meaningful use.
- Asked for guidance on implementing a subscriber recertification requirement to ensure ACP participants continue to meet eligibility criteria from one year to the next.
- Sought input on what metrics it should track to measure the success of the ACP and what enrollment data it should provide to the public.
- Asked for suggestions about how to address provider misconduct and how to notify the public when misconduct occurs.
Initial comments on the matter are due by December 8, with responses due by December 28.
The infrastructure bill specifies the ACP will succeed the EBB Program when the latter’s funding runs out or on December 31, 2021, whichever is earlier. Given there is plenty of EBB funding left, the FCC said it expects the ACP to take effect on the aforementioned date next month.