WASHINGTON, June 20, 2023 – Experts are pushing Congress to extend the funding available to the Affordable Connectivity Program or else it will hamper efforts to build out infrastructure in other parts of the country.
The essence of the argument is that the $14.2-billion ACP, which provides a $30- and $75-per month subsidies to low-income Americans, is helping internet service providers with revenues used to build more infrastructure in underserved areas. But experts are warning that the ACP – which currently enrolls about 18.5 out of 48 million eligible Americans – could run out of money as soon as early 2024, which observers have said could affect private investment in broadband deployment.
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“This is the first time we’re seeing these deployment grants make a specific requirement for recipients to actually include and participate in an affordability program,” said Kathryn. “They are trying to stabilize revenue for internet service providers who are connecting areas that might not offer a high return on investment.”
This funding from the ACP would provide the groundwork for a decade-long investment in internet infrastructure, according to Jonathan Cannon, technology policy counsel at think tank R Street Institute.
This is a critical point of breakdown in the current market-based policy for modernizing legacy metallic telecom infrastructure such as copper to support analog telephone service to fiber for advanced telecom services.
Legacy telephone service has high cost area and low income customer subsidies. But they were properly paired with a universal service/non discrimination mandate and state utility rate regulation under Title II of the Communications Act. By contrast, advanced telecom is not subject to Title II and instead is lightly regulated as an optional information service under Title I of the statute.
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