Upcoming policy issue

While continuing to fight for Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding, we must also prepare for a future without the program if Congress doesn’t act. We spoke with NDIA community members about what you need to help consumers transition off of ACP.  On January 8, NDIA officially filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission sharing your needs and requests and advocating for what consumers and organizations working with ACP recipients need in this challenging time. Our requests to the FCC: 

U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), JD Vance (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and U.S. Representatives Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) led their colleagues in the bicameral, bipartisan introduction of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act. This legislation would provide $7 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides affordable high-speed internet options to qualifying households across the U.S.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has been a transformative force, connecting over 22 million households, but it's in trouble. This proposal would allow this national commitment to continue uninterrupted, bring greater accountability to Big Tech, and create a stable, permanent source of funding that would safeguard the program from the uncertainties of the annual appropriations process. 

• Step One: Maintain Connectivity- Congress needs to immediately provide stop-gap funding to keep the program operational while a permanent fix is put in place.

“The Affordable Connectivity Program has helped close the digital divide by connecting over 25,000 Vermont households to lower-cost internet—an essential for working, learning, and staying connected to our communities. Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity.

I’m working with several small cities that were recently notified that the existing cable company plans to upgrade its network. In these cities, the cable company still operates a DOCSIS 3.0 network. The networks have download speeds a little faster than 100 Megabits per second (Mbps), and upload speeds are under 10 Mbps. These cities are currently considered to be underserved and are eligible for BEAD grants. I talked to the State Broadband Offices in several states about the issue of announced upgrades coming just in front of the final BEAD map challenges.

Although the Federal Communications Commission did not have its auction authority for most of 2023, some important events came to pass. The wireless industry lobbied much of the year for reallocation of spectrum in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, which didn’t happen. The Biden Administration delivered a plan for a National Spectrum Strategy, which includes further study of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) – which financially supports several of the Federal Communications Commission's high-cost and low-income broadband programs, at roughly $8 billion annually – has been going through a tough time. This past year saw the USF dragged before federal court in cases brought by a conservative public interest group questioning the fund's legality. The Fifth and Sixth Circuit courts initially ruled against the petitioners, but the Fifth Circuit then agreed to hear the case en banc in September and has yet to rule.

Washington is battling over whether to keep the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) going — potentially cutting off more than 22 million households from a subsidy they’ve come to rely on. The ACP launched with bipartisan support in 2020, but is now trapped in a partisan war between Democrats who want to renew it, and Republicans worried it will let President Joe Biden take too much of a victory lap during a campaign year. If Congress can’t find a way to fund the program by spring, the federal government will have to quickly unwind it.

Dish Network is re-upping its calls for the Federal Communications Commission to update spectrum holding policies, saying the agency’s current spectrum procedures have enabled incumbents like T-Mobile to amass too much low-band spectrum to the detriment of new competitors and regional carriers. Dish EVP of External & Legislative Affairs Jeff Blum and other Dish lawyers met with FCC representatives to discuss the current competitive landscape and importance of spectrum availability in giving new entrants a chance to compete. Dish pointed to comments from AT&T, Public Knowledge, and O

The Federal Communications Commission is suggesting raising the national fixed broadband speed benchmark to 100/20 Megabits per second (Mbps) from its current definition of 25/3 Mbps.