The Federal Communications Commission today adopted an order to provide an up-to-$75 monthly broadband benefit for subscribers living in qualifying high-cost areas through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), as directed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act). The Infrastructure Act specified that the $75 monthly benefit would support providers that can demonstrate that the standard $30 monthly benefit would cause them to experience “particularized economic hardship” such that they would be unable to maintain part or all of their broadband network in a high-cost area. Congress separately directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in consultation with the Commission, to identify the high-cost areas that would be eligible for the enhanced ACP high-cost area benefit.
The Report and Order is expected to incentivize providers to participate in the ACP or remain in the ACP in rural and insular areas, further narrowing the digital divide. The high-cost area benefit supports other federal initiatives, including those in the Infrastructure Act, to spur deployment and adoption in rural areas by strengthening the business case for providers to deploy broadband in rural and insular areas.
Blandin on Broadband
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