Recertification is an annual requirement for Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) subscribers. Service providers with Federal Communications Commission-approved alternative verification processes or that use a school-based eligibility verification process for the national school lunch or breakfast program must conduct recertification for those subscribers. For all other ACP subscribers, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) conducts recertification to ensure that ACP subscribers are still eligible for the benefit. Subscribers who participate in Lifeline and ACP that pass the USAC-conducted Lifeline recertification process will not need to undergo a separate ACP recertification process. Starting in June 2023, and over the course of the next few months, USAC will initiate automated eligibility database checks to verify the eligibility of ACP subscribers due for recertification in 2023. Subscribers who pass the automated check will complete the 2023 recertification requirement and will not need to take any further action to confirm their continued eligibility now or later this year. Subscribers who fail the automated check will be required to recertify their continued eligibility. USAC will conduct outreach to those subscribers. Each subscriber will have a 60-day window to recertify. 

The US Treasury just gave California more than half a billion dollars to fund broadband buildout. This money may help reduce the digital divide. It also might not. There’s really no way to know because the only public information about the grant is a press release that more closely resembles a flyer than an explanation of how the government is spending 540 million taxpayer dollars. The money comes from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF), which is $10 billion allocated by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Act directs the Treasury to distribute these funds to states, territories, and tribal governments to subsidize new broadband networks. However, the program appears to lack even the most basic transparency. Treasury’s website lists a press release similar to California’s for each state award, and those others also provide almost no additional information. They do list “key state contacts,” but it’s typically an entire state agency. That’s just a hair more helpful than telling people to “call Congress” to learn more about government spending. At a bare minimum, the public should be able to see the plan each state submitted to the Treasury and the final plan the agency approved. That might make it possible for researchers and watchdogs like the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the program — not only to see how well it worked but to inform other broadband grant programs. Unfortunately, these plans do not appear to be available to the public. With the current opaque arrangement, we may never know whether the infrastructure money was well spent because we know little about how the states plan to distribute the money and how their efforts will be evaluated.

[Scott Wallsten is president of the Technology Policy Institute.]

The Federal Communications Commission took a holistic approach to expand the use of over 1 gigahertz of prime mid-band spectrum in the 12 GHz bands by ensuring stable spectrum access for current and next-generation satellite service while also empowering advanced terrestrial wireless services. The FCC adopted rules to preserve spectrum between 12.2-12.7 GHz for current and future satellite services. The FCC also proposed policies that would position the 12.7-13.25 GHz band to support flexible terrestrial wireless use, including 6G wireless services. The approach used currently paves the way for advanced satellite and terrestrial services to access spectrum resources to support consumer needs, helping to connect everyone everywhere to advance wireless services and supercharge the American economy.

US Sens Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, the first-ever legislation in Congress to create an expert federal agency to provide comprehensive regulation of digital platforms to protect consumers, promote competition, and defend the public interest. Amid calls for regulation of artificial intelligence and social media, the senators propose a new Federal Digital Platform Commission with the mandate, jurisdiction, and tools to develop and enforce rules for a sector that has gone virtually unregulated. The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) largely oversee digital platforms. Despite their work to enforce existing antitrust and consumer protection laws, they lack the expert staff and resources necessary for robust oversight. Moreover, both bodies are limited by existing statutes to react to case-specific challenges raised by digital platforms, when proactive, long-term rules for the sector are required.