ACP

Will Congress Permanently Extend the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The program is helping low-income households afford internet access, but some experts warn that the fund will soon be depleted.

Ahmad Hathout

Dec 29, 2022 — 4 min read

Graphic courtesy of ST.art / Adobe Stock

Some say that people are not enrolling in the Federal Communications Commission’s new subsidy for low-income households, the Affordable Connectivity Program. Others say that at the rate people are subscribing, the fund will soon run out of money.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Dec. 13, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance warned that the ACP is at risk of being deplenished. “Unless Congress takes action, this vital program will go away in just a few short years,” said the nonprofit’s executive director Angela Siefer at the hearing.

The 12 Days of Broadband 2022 (click to open)

On the First Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
A Symmetrical Gigabit Network
On the Second Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
24 Reverse-Preemption Pole Attachment States (2022 edition)
On the Third Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
Section Two-30 of the Communications Decency Act
On the Fourth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
$42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funds
On the Fifth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
5 Federal Communications Commissioners
On the Sixth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
Wi-Fi 6E
On the Seventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
7.7% annual inflation rate
On the Eighth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
8,132,968 census blocks and a national Broadband Fabric
On the Ninth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
$9 Billion Universal Service Fund
On the Tenth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
$10 Billion Remaining in the Affordable Connectivity Program
On the Eleventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
11th Year of Xi Jinping’s rule in China
On the Twelfth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me:
12 or More State Broadband Officers

Jonathan Spalter, head of broadband industry association US Telecom, warned the fund could run out of money by 2024. Both Spalter and the NDIA urged Congress to make the program permanent.