Affordable Connectivity Program's End Spurs State-Level Action on Broadband
States are exploring new approaches to maintain broadband affordability for low-income households.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2025 — With the federal Affordable Connectivity Program winding down, states are exploring new approaches to maintain broadband affordability for low-income households, according to panelists at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Wednesday.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks called the ACP "the most effective program I have ever seen for helping low-income Americans get online and stay online." The program, which is ending due to lack of Congressional funding, served over 23 million American households.
"No American should go without a connection because of cost," Starks said, noting the program's "universal appeal" across red and blue states. The top 10 states for ACP enrollment included California, New York, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Illinois.
Geoffrey Starks
California State Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner, who chairs the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee, introduced AB 353, currently a placeholder bill that would create an affordability broadband mandate.
"We have to set a rate that is affordable for households so they are connected," Boerner said, while noting separate concerns about funding mechanisms that don't unfairly burden those just above eligibility thresholds.
The discussion highlighted various state-level approaches, most notably New York's mandate requiring providers to offer $15 broadband plans. Massachusetts, Mississippi and Oregon have also introduced legislation aimed at expanding broadband affordability programs in the absence of ACP.
However, experts noted that while state programs might help fill the gap, they lack the efficiency of the federal program's enrollment system and national verification database.
Yusuf Nekzad, legislative director for Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois, detailed previous Congressional efforts to save the program, including a bipartisan bill that gained support from both parties but ultimately wasn't brought to the floor by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.
"Should this product have been presented on the house floor at any point last Congress, we would have had a large amount of Democrats if not all Democrats voting in favor, as well as those Republicans who have been friendly to the program," Nekzad said.
Drew Garner, director of public policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, cited research showing the ACP's economic benefits could help the program "pay for itself."
"The ACP had benefited everyone, not just people who were on the program, but everyone because it drove infrastructure," Garner said. He noted that the program encouraged ISPs to build in areas with high program eligibility.
Justin Faulb, chief of staff to Commissioner Starks, emphasized the program's importance to vulnerable populations, citing examples of seniors and veterans who relied on affordable broadband for healthcare and basic services.
He also cited a study that showed telehealth could potentially save "$15-17 billion" when calculated across Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans Affairs users.
The event occurred as states nationwide are grappling with maintaining broadband affordability amid the ACP's expiration, with some experts suggesting that Universal Service Fund reform could provide a long-term solution at the federal level.
Keynote
- Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks
Panelists
- Justin Faulb, Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor for Wireline and National Security, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks
- Tasha Boerner, Assemblymember, California's 77th Assembly District
- Yusuf Nekzad, Legislative Director, Office of Representative Nikki Budzinski
- Drew Garner, Director of Policy Engagement, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
- Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Geoffrey Starks is an advocate for consumer protection and accountability, particularly in managing the Universal Service Fund. Before he was appointed Commissioner, Starks helped lead the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, handling a wide variety of complex investigations. At the Department of Justice, he served as a senior advisor to the Deputy Attorney General on a variety of domestic and international law enforcement matters and received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service Commissioner. Before he entered federal public service, Commissioner Starks practiced law at Williams & Connolly, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, served as a legislative staffer in the Illinois State Senate, and worked as a financial analyst.
Justin Faulb is Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor for Wireline and National Security for Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Previously, Mr. Faulb served as Associate Bureau Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, overseeing implementation of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act and other national security, privacy, numbering, and pricing issues. At the FCC, he has also served as Legal Advisor to the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, as the Designated Federal Officer of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, as an Attorney Advisor, and as Special Counsel in the Office of the FCC Chairman. Prior to the FCC he worked for a leading trade association and in private practice focusing on communications and energy law. Mr. Faulb received his law degree from Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, and his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Miami University.
Tasha Boerner was first elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2018 and re-elected for her fourth term in November 2024. She represents the 77th District, encompassing Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, and the coastal communities of La Jolla south to Coronado. Tasha was selected by Speaker Robert Rivas to chair the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee for the 2024-2025 session. She serves on the following policy committees: Higher Education, Public Employment & Retirement, Utilities & Energy, and Water, Parks, & Wildlife.
Yusuf Nekzad currently serves as Legislative Director for Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), handling energy, infrastructure, and labor issues, along with her most recent effort to reauthorize the Affordable Connectivity Program. Prior to his time with the Congresswoman, he led Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Infrastructure, with a particular focus on the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Before that, he served as Senior Policy Advisor to former Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17). He holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a M.P.H. in Health Policy from the George Washington University.
Drew Garner is the Director of Policy Engagement at Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. He combines research, analysis, and storytelling to educate government officials and the general public about broadband policy. He helps lead Benton’s work on broadband affordability, and he serves as Deputy Director for the Broadband State Education Project, which gives community-led coalitions a powerful voice in state broadband investments.
Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.
