In less than two months, if Congress does not act, tens of millions of people could find themselves unable to stay connected to high-speed internet.
Thanks to the Affordable Connectivity Program, low-income Americans who qualify can choose from a variety of services and carriers in their area, applying a $30 discount, or $75 on tribal lands, in the form of a tech-neutral voucher. This high-speed connectivity allows thousands of individuals from Texas to Vermont to start businesses, stay in touch with family, book telehealth appointments, and more.
But because Congress is dragging its feet and a handful of members are arguing that ACP is wasteful, expensive, and unnecessary, this program is at risk of disappearing entirely.
In fact, just this month, the ACP has already stopped enrolling new customers. This means once the remaining $14.2 billion appropriated under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has been exhausted, likely by April, the program will shut down completely.
Rather than killing a successful program that balances government investment and pro-market incentives, opponents should put forth real reforms or consolidate the other duplicative 133 broadband programs across 15 federal agencies. ACP is facing a heightened level of scrutiny, unlike many of its bloated, expensive, failed predecessors, in part because it has been so successful in a few short years.
While this program hangs on life support, the question shouldn’t be how to gut the program but how to save it and ensure ACP can live up to its potential. It not only helps customers keep broadband service but attracts new customers, too. The program was never intended to drive broadband adoption, or it would have been limited only to new broadband subscribers. And yet, it has helped millions of new customers connect. As those underserved customer needs grow, the private sector increasingly will see incentives to upgrade and improve networks in those communities in the future.
This is a market-driven approach to shrinking the digital divide without the politics of deployment programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and Broadband Equity Access and Deployment. Some scholars have noted that the ACP has had a huge return on investment in communities with strong adoption: Every dollar spent has generated $3.89 in return for communities.
Unfortunately, as the end date of ACP gets closer, opposition becomes louder. Critics claim the program is “web welfare,” and they lambaste the cost, ignoring the forest for the trees. Every other broadband program except for ACP puts onerous requirements on service providers, limiting the services offered to customers and restricting the market to suit political needs.
Some conservatives are rightfully frustrated and correct that broadband spending needs to be addressed. However, instead of allowing this program to sunset, Congress should invest in its success and save money by cutting other wasteful broadband spending and retaining and improving the ACP.
The program is not perfect, but the United States cannot afford to let the digital divide continue to grow. Congress has an opportunity to improve the program and make necessary tweaks to ensure that it is targeting the customers who need ACP to remain connected.
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Changes could include lowering the eligibility criteria from 200% of the federal poverty level to 135%, which was used by ACP’s predecessor, the Emergency Broadband Benefit. Another option is to remove the reduced and free school lunch program as an eligible criterion, as this program has been cited as an area of over-enrollment, and those who rely on it are likely covered by other eligibility criteria. Lastly, ACP offers new subscribers a device benefit of $100 toward a connected device. The data do not show much uptick or signs of success for this part of the program, so it could be removed.
Ultimately, the ACP is the one broadband program that features all the elements of a light-touch, successful investment that relies on market signals to ensure it is still valuable. Congress must act to address broadband affordability, and it must ensure ACP’s continuation as it works toward a permanent program.
Jonathan Cannon serves as policy counsel for the R Street Institute’s technology and innovation team.