ACA Connects

ACA Connects–America’s Communications Association, the Fiber Broadband Association, and NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, and the Fiber Broadband Association encouraged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to “stand its ground” in prioritizing fiber projects and maximizing the deployment of fiber networks as Congress intended under the Broadband Access, Equity, and Deployment (BEAD) program amid calls for the agency to reject or weaken initial proposals submitted by some states and territories. In 

ACA Connects, in partnership with Cartesian, announced the release of “BEAD Program: A Framework to Allocate Funding for Broadband Availability – Version 4.0.” This newest version, using data from the latest National Broadband Map, estimates that when States and Territories begin to select broadband deployment projects, 6.4 million unserved and underserved locations will be eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding and that the program should be able to

NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association and ACA Connects—America’s Communications Association strongly support the proposal to amend a “program comment” issued by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) in 2017. Recognizing that telecommunications undertakings “typically [do] not result in adverse effects to historic properties,” in 2017 the ACHP adopted a streamlined process for communications providers’ compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the installation of certain categories of wireline and wireless communications infrastructure on federal

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) directs States and Territories to include in their Initial Proposals “a middle-class affordability plan to ensure that all consumers have access to affordable high-speed internet.” ACA Connects believes each State and Territory should provide a rational basis for its plan and justify its methodology.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program holds out tremendous opportunity to close the broadband availability gap.

A framework for how each state and territory can spend Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds on fixed broadband – principally fiber -- projects to connect their unserved and underserved locations. The framework includes both a national analysis and an analysis for each state with the latest data to estimate the number of unserved and underserved locations and the amount of BEAD funding that will be allocated to each jurisdiction. Includes fixed broadband deployment scenarios using that funding and matching funds from providers. 

Broadband markets in the United States are by and large competitive today, and the trends indicate that competition is becoming more widespread. Federal Communications Commission data show that the share of US households that have access to multiple providers of fast broadband is already very large and is increasing rapidly.

ACA Connects Chairman Patricia Jo Boyers, Vice Chair Mike Bowker and President and CEO Matthew Polka announced their plan initiated by Polka to make a leadership change in July 2022. The collective’s goal is to prepare and position the organization for success amid rapid technology developments and expansive legislative and policy challenges. “I have been blessed every day to lead ACA Connects, but after 25 years I believe it is time to pass on the privilege of leadership for the healthy growth and future success of the organization,” Polka said.

ACA Connects alerted the Federal Communications Commission of potential misconduct among some Emergency Broadband Benefit Program providers. ACA Connects says some participating providers are performing a large and growing number of benefit transfers without the household’s apparent knowledge or intent.

Although gigabit availability has increased by 50 percent over the last three years, households that lack 100/20 Mbps service have declined by only 3 percentage points over the same period. In addition to households known to be unserved to the Federal Communications Commission, there are an additional estimated 8.2 million households in census blocks reported as “served” that do not have broadband service available. Approximately 12 million households in total, inclusive of these 8.2 million households, do not have access to a baseline level of service.