Consensus: More ACP Funding Needed for Rural Communities

Policymakers, industry officials and broadband experts emphasized the demand for additional rural broadband deployment and affordability programs during an NTCA policy conference Wednesday in Washington. With uncertainty looming around the FCC's affordable connectivity program, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged Congress to replenish the program and keep rural communities connected (see 2405010055).

"We've got to permanently fund" ACP, which is only partially funded this month, Klobuchar said. The FCC rolled out ACP on an "incredibly fast burn for how important the program was," Starks noted. "I have been incredibly proud of the program," he said, noting enrollment data shows "the program over indexed on rural populations from what was expected to what we saw." The focus now is on "making sure [ACP] can find the right vehicle on the Hill," Starks said, because "I think it will be a real disservice if this program goes away." Starks also suggested Congress is "the right place to lead the way to figure out how we solve what needs to be solved" on Universal Service Fund contributions.

"We're pushing to make sure we get" rural communities covered, Klobuchar said, adding she spoke about this with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner. "We just have to make sure we get this funding out there and continue to grow." There's also "a real interest" in getting the farm bill "locked in for rural America for five years instead of going year by year by year and not knowing what's going to happen," Klobuchar said.

"I don't think there's anything that is as big right now" as NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program, Starks said. The FCC is working with NTIA on mapping, he said, encouraging other stakeholders to engage in public-private partnerships as NTIA implements the program. Kathryn de Wit, Pew Charitable Trusts' broadband access initiative director, said she was pleased when states noted a connection between "robust affordable connectivity" and various economic or health outcomes in their five-year BEAD action plans. "This is the first time that we have really seen full-throated planning across government," de Wit said.

Some panelists also emphasized the need for public-private partnerships and encouraged local leaders to coordinate with stakeholders on their community needs. "At the end of the day, we are where we are because we care about our rural communities," said Catherine Nicolaou, broadband program manager for Albuquerque. "If people don't know how to access all the amazing things that our networks brought to them, then those communities are going to dry up, and we won't have a real community to serve or to live in," Nicolaou said. Digital inclusion is "supposed to" seem like a broad term because it will mean something different for each household or community, Nicolaou added. Kelly Wismer, Appalachian Regional Commission chief of staff to the executive director, said funding applicants should document stakeholder engagement and provide details about local demand.