Outreach Increases as EBB Enrollment Stalls

Weekly enrollments for the FCC emergency broadband benefit are beginning to slow, according to Universal Service Administrative Co. data. Some said in interviews last week the apparent slump may reflect lack of sufficient FCC leadership on EBB. Others said the initial surge in enrollment shows the level of interest in the program, and eligible households will continue signing up.

More than 1 million households enrolled during the program's initial days (see 2105200004). Adds declined to 239,336 for the week of June 7-13. They fell further to 215,257 new users for the week of June 14-20.

The trend is “an indictment on that leadership” at the FCC, said Joshua Edmonds, Detroit director-digital inclusion: “I'm just really just disappointed in the FCC.” Edmonds said the “terrible” enrollment numbers in Michigan could be used as evidence against a permanent broadband subsidy, but the program was “rolled out in a way that wasn't empowering local ecosystems.”

Edmonds contrasted Michigan with Ohio, which nearly doubled the number of Michigan households signing up; the two states' governor's offices didn't comment Monday. “That's also an indictment of our state, too, because we've been functioning this entire time without a state broadband office,” he said, but [the FCC] toolkit aside, “I don't think that the coordination and effort were put into actually making sure that this was successful.” The numbers are stalling, said Internet Innovation Alliance co-Chair Kim Keenan: “The FCC is not equipped to get the word out to millions and millions of people by themselves.” It’s “unthinkable” Michigan now has half as many enrolled households as Ohio, Keenan said. Michigan's population is about 10.07 million in 2020, and Ohio's is 11.8 million, per the Census Bureau's first population count from the 2020 Census.

Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters the FCC “anticipated a burst” at the start. “We also know that we’re going to have to study over time which carriers in what regions of the country have been effective at getting the word out,” she said Thursday. Rosenworcel hopes the commission can identify what has and hasn’t worked, and “identify what changes we might make if there’s another program like this.” The FCC will “make adjustments as needed as time goes on because we want to make sure this program and the opportunity it provides reaches the beneficiary,” Rosenworcel said.

Edmonds said Detroit’s call center is now live, and his office created television and radio ads promoting the program (see 2104290058). The FCC’s digital toolkit wasn’t useful, he said: “We need funding for bodies to actually get the word out.” Edmonds said at least two other major cities have decided not to market the program at all because it was “convoluted.”

There was a lot of outreach before the program’s launch, so “those who were highly motivated signed up very quickly,” said Public Knowledge Director-Government Affairs Greg Guice. The dropoff was somewhat expected, Guice said: Getting providers to “press harder” on their marketing efforts is an area of continued opportunity to grow the number of enrolled households.

ISPs told us they're actively promoting the program to customers. They detailed several types of informational efforts that they said are continuing.

EBB uptake “might have slowed a little simply because there was a large initial rush to sign up when it launched,” said a Cox spokesperson. More than 100,000 subscribers have applied, the spokesperson said, and that “continues to grow.” Comcast is emailing customers, promoting the program on bills, and distributing flyers in more than 15 languages, a spokesperson noted. It's working with community organizations and “interest is in line with what we expected,” the spokesperson said.

Verizon said it's running a “multi-faceted campaign” that includes traditional and social media, text messaging and email campaigns, and partnering with other organizations to get the word out. AT&T said its outreach includes direct customer communications, traditional and social media promotion, and partner coordination. “We continue to work with Congress and others to create long-term sustainable solutions to help low-income families pay for broadband after the EBB program ends,” emailed a spokesperson Friday.

A USTelecom spokesperson cited a website listing participating members. He said the association is promoting the program on its social media. Lumen declined to comment.