Congress created the Affordable Connectivity Program through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, building on the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program created earlier in 2021. For the EBB Program, Congress provided the Federal Communications Commission with $3.2 billion to make monthly broadband service bills more affordable for low-income households. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act adds an additional $14.2 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program, while leaving in place the EBB Program's basic framework. But the law also made some changes—to the benefit amount, rules regarding plan and subscriber eligibility, and providers’ public promotion obligations, among other modifications. On January 14, 2022, the FCC adopted rules for the Affordable Connectivity Program—here's what the new benefit will look like for consumers and providers.

[Kevin Taglang is Executive Editor at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.]

This $14.2 billion investment, a byproduct of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is the biggest program we have ever had to help ensure that every family can afford the broadband that is now essential for full participation in modern life." The chairwoman highlighted a number of additions to the Affordable Connectivity Program's rules, including "updated income qualifications" for the program, which "will open the door for more families to receive support." Chairwoman Rosenworcel stressed the importance of outreach to ensure the efficacy of the Affordable Connectivity Program, saying, "In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress provided the agency with the ability to devote resources to outreach efforts designed to enroll eligible households in the Affordable Connectivity Program. To ensure we do this in a targeted and thoughtful way, we are seeking comment on what a grant program to support these outreach efforts should look like." Lastly, the chairwoman highlighted the new consumer protection policies included in the program rules, including rules restricting upselling/downselling practices, limits on credit checks, and a new complaint process specifically for the program. I look forward to working with federal, state, and local partners to identify ways to ensure that those who are eligible have opportunities to enroll with the broadband provider of their choosing.

I have been focused on ensuring that every dollar the FCC allocates through its programs goes to the families that Congress intended to benefit. And that is why I have been raising serious concerns since the beginning of last year about the risk of massive levels of waste, fraud, and abuse [in the Affordable Connectivity Program]. (The commissioner cited a November 2021 report by the FCC's Office of the Inspector General which identified some fraud in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.) Protecting [the Affordable Connectivity Program] from waste, fraud, and abuse will require ongoing and diligent oversight. And I remain concerned that the dollars Congress intended to reach eligible households will be siphoned off by bad actors. 

Commissioner Carr recommended the FCC add a requirement for consumers to provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number to be able to "identify fraud more quickly," yet the agency voted to not to include the requirement. Unfortunately, the votes were not there to include this important safeguard. For my part, I wish we had listened to the FCC’s Inspector General on this. And I am worried that future reports on the ACP program will identify the absence of this requirement as a key, contributing factor to waste, fraud, and abuse. That is why I am dissenting from the FCC’s decision not to include this safeguard.

Federal Communications Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brenden Carr have used their positions as leaders of a federal agency to dehumanize and disrespect the immigrant community. At the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), we believe that no human is illegal and that every person deserves dignity and respect. As such, we condemn the Commissioners’ comments and statements following the release of the Affordable Connectivity Program rules and call for higher standards of morality, empathy, and humanity from those who sit on the FCC. The Commissioners’ statements carried a clear anti-immigrant connotation, insinuating that undocumented or differently documented people are to blame for alleged waste, fraud, and abuse in the Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB). Contrary to the Commissioners’ politically charged commentary, the technical rule of the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)–an extension of the EBB program–allowing alternate forms of identification (in addition to Social Security Numbers) is an equitable practice. NHMC does not take it lightly that both Commissioner Carr and Commissioner Simington used the immigrant community as a scapegoat for their political comments, advocating to make it harder for all consumers to access the ACP. All consumers who can be verified as eligible through the existing rules should have the opportunity to access the critical ACP subsidy.

[Brenda Victoria Castillo is President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.]