Trade Groups Discuss Affordable Connectivity Program Data Collection With FCC

On October 17, trade groups NTCA, USTelecom, CTIA, and ACA Connects met Federal Communications Commission officials to discuss the Affordable Connectivity Program transparency proceeding. The associations offered proposals to maximize the effectiveness of the proposed data collection while keeping it streamlined and efficient for the benefit of consumers and providers alike. Among their concerns, the groups said that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provision creating the data collection specifically calls for “final rules regarding the annual collection by the FCC." Thus, they said, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking's (NPRM) proposal for a subscriber-level collection—which the NPRM states would require providers “to input additional data in National Lifeline Accountability Database at enrollment in addition to the information already required to enroll a household”—would run afoul of the IIJA. The associations included a variety of concerns and suggestions in their discussion with the FCC. Read more here.