Internet access. [inaudible conversations] good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for attending the encompass [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] good morning. There we go. Thank you so much for attending the policy summit. Im the president of incompand thrilled to see so many of you in the room and thrilled to be introduce our next speaker, fcc commissioner geoffrey stark. He is the biggest kansas city chief fan in the room. Oh, wait. [laughter] no, i got that wrong. No, its true. I dont know. I think maybe we should have a little showdown between Chris Shipley and commissioner, what do you think . [laughter] nick is here too. So, you know, weve got a couple of men in the audience that are just as a proud as the commissioner about the Kansas City Chiefs win in the super bowl. You know, i know when you have three wins in such a short time frame, the haters are gonna hat [laughter] but with i am not one of them. Okay . All right, no. In all seriousness, we are just so happy to have the commissioner back with us. Many of you know that he has been committed to bringing affordable, competitive Broadband Service to every american. At our policy summit last year, he was the very first fcc commissioner or to call for congress to extend affordable connectivity for ram funding which is absolutely critical to insure that the program that currently is serving over 23 million low income households to stay connected to broadband. Its scheduled to be out of funding in a very short time frame. The fcc just produced the Public Notice yesterday saying that the full funding will run i out in april, and only partial funding will be available in mate. I know hes going to talk more about this. Incompas supports Congress Moving forward with the bipartisan, bicameral acp extension act. We think this is so, so important. Lets give it up. [applause] i know many of you have been talking to the commissioner and his fantastic staff. Justin is here. I think there may have been a few other folks about what we can do to be helpful in calling for this additional funding. Theres a role for each of us in this room to be playing. Incompas is will be on the hill tomorrow meeting with so many officers, i cant remember the last count i saw. If youve not signed up for lobby day, you need to sign up for lobby day and help us with this big push. Its really so important. So, commissioner or stark, you saw [inaudible] so i think theres always been this close connection because he took her seat. And maybe you know that i worked for commissioner clyburn in the first part of the obama administration, so theres like a Family Connection mere. Here. And were just thrilled that youre here to talk to us about the great work that youve been doing. You have a fantastic z may. Even knows resume. Everybody know knows how much youre making a difference, and we want to say thank you for that, and we really look forward to hearing your comments. [applause] well, thank you, angie. Set the table right there between chiefs, acp and, of course; i am deeply honored, as ever, to have followed in the footsteps of commissioner clyburn and continue. Really these jobs are unique and the ability to serve, to serve the american people. And i have traveled the across the country on the issue that im going to talk about here today. But more than that, thrilled to return, join incompas policy summit here again this year. We truly do stand at a crossroads in the landscape of communications and digital equity. I believe that. And as we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, one thing has remained unchanged, and that is our commitment to insuring that every american everywhere regardless of where you live or how much you make has access to reliable, awe affordable highspeed internet. Access to the internet is not just a matter of convenience, its a fundamental issue of fairness. And and a necessity for participating in modern life. In many ways our Journey Towards a more connected,competitive and, wit bl future, i believe equitable future, i believe, is at a tipping point. Hard fought gains are at rusk of slipping backwards. I want to zero in on one place, as a ann a jihad mentioned, that is more true than ever, and that is in the refunding of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Thats connecting millions. Nearly 24 million households throughout america with Free Internet access. And so nearly a year ago today also after a chiefs super bowl win [laughter] i stood on this stage. And called for the, the first to call for a secure funding tap for acp. I believed that then, i believe that now. The case, in fact, has only grown stronger. It was clear in the ensuing months have only emphasized that acp is a once in a life lifetime catalyst. So since i first call for refunding the acp, the growth has continued to explode. It already exploded through ebb, acp for those of you in the room who know what im talking about. But just yearoveryear from last year to this year, we went from 16 million households to 23 million households. Weve overcome numerous challenges as we have faith in getting those households connected, spreading the word, gaining trust, language barriers. Just the enrollment execution. So all of these, we have put and pulled these hurdles out of the way. And all in all we have created a program that is very effective nationwide. But lets briefly set the stage here, go back to august of 2021. Congress, as we heard even from a number of colleagues here before that were focusing on congress was crafting legislation with the covid pandemic in mind as well as working to resolve those universal challenges that an equitable broadband deployment and access meant for millions of american households. So working together, a Bipartisan Congress adopted the infrastructure and investments jobs act, the iija a, stepping up to the plate with a historic investment to connect all americans with highspeed broadband. The airks iija made two complimentary investments to insure that no one got left behind. The first was, of course, the 42. 5 billion program to build broadband to unserved and underserved locations. 9 and the second was the 14. 2 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program to provide that a 30 subsidy per month against the price of broadband sub gyms, 5 for tribal communities, of course and a onetime discount at the price of a broadband device. And so congress wisely, wisely realized that there are two challenges here when it comes to closing the Digital Divide and that they are, in fact, interrelated. First, we must build broadband to reach the door can step of all doorstep of all americans everywhere. Harder than it sounds. Second, millions of households quite simply cannot afford broadband without assistance. And so according to the Government Accountability office, nearly onethird of disconnected americans say cost is an obstacle thats standing in their way to subscribing to broadband. And thats where where acp, of course, comes in, insuring that when high quality with, highspeed if broadband is both available and affordable, teams can Deploy Networks with less risk and more certainty that households will subscribe. And importantly, that also means that deployment itself is less expensive. Because households enroll in acs churn for isps, they add to both the potential and if realized Subscriber Base of a network which facilitates more deployment. A landmark study concluded that acp works hand in if glove with b, reducing the subsidy necessary to support isp Network Deployment by 25 . And so what that really means, really, really means is that as ntia as im sure you heard approves these state plans, federal funds are going to start to flow. That means those dollars are going to stretch further and be able to impact more households in bead and reach more unserved and underserved households thanks to the existence of a a cp. And so no ones going fall out of their chair when i say that due to a lack of funding, acp is in grave jeopardy. Finish in fact, weve already started the lyingdown process here at the fcc. Shutting down the program would push those subscribing households to make hard traditions decisions. Unless you as of february 7th, we stopped enrolling new enrollees, and were in that 2month winddown where were trying to fig out how to manage the program and manage those that are currently enrolled. Heres the hard decision that these households are going to have to make. First, potentially facing skyrocketing monthly internet bill for that vulnerable household or, second, disconnecting from the internet itself. We cannot let that happen. To put it plainly, a a cp is the most Effective Program weve had in helping low income americans get on rhine and stay online. In fact, its been the most Successful Program ever in the decadeslong bipartisan effort to solve the Digital Divide. Acps success, of course, lies in its universal appeal. Americans from all 50 states are enroll. Ed enrolled. When the missioner was forced to freeze enrollment, over 130 households in my home state of kansas, over 270,000 in nevada. 1. 1 million in ohio. 1. 7 million in florida. 558,000 in louisiana. 552,000 in arizona. 470,000 in virginia is. Thats, of course, just a smattering. What is that, six states . Enrollment was growing steadily at the time week over week. Notably, the program surpassed, something that ive continued tn rural enrollment. Let that be said clearly. And no to wonder the program was so popular. Nationwide nearly 78 of residents surveyed 78 by a a arp said they support congress continuing to fund the program. That same study found that acp if enables those personal connections online for seniors which bats loneliness, well documented for folks. And there are a lot of ways to look at the data. Let me give you a few ways that i have thought about the data, because its clear that a a cp is making a real difference in communities that are historically underserved. So data shows that approximately 50 of households participating in acp are black and latino. Let me say that again. 50 of households participating in acp are black and latino. Over 329,000 tribal households. Acp is also supporting elderly americans with over 4 million seniors and 10 million americans over the age of 50 benefiting from the program each month. Finally, looking at the data, nearly half again of the families are military families. So simply put, acp is helping to meet americans in all walks of their life. Ive seen it firsthand, the impact that acp has had on vulnerable households. As a true true champion of acp, ive crisscross canned the country to help push an increase in enrollment. I see so many friends in the audience that ive also worked side by side with in helping to get enrollments up, increasing awareness of the program. But truly, i have more than anything endeavored to hear directly from people, the people, on how having access to affordable, high quality broadband impacts them, impacts their lives, what the risk now of losing it would mean. And so met me share a few let me share just a few of their stories with you. You dont have to take my word for it. I met jerry, a Senior Living in Public Housing in chicago enrolled in acp. Hes lived his whole life without ever even owning a computer until a a cp helped him. Through the program, he got connected with Digital Literacy courses, received his first computer. And what he really did with that computer is what really matters. He took virtually those classes and took the important steps to improve his ail aing health carh access to the internet including reapplying for his Health Care Benefits online. Denise, a mother of four Young Children who could not aboard the pay for Internet Service, and that was a real problem for her. Her children were attending grade school remotely relying on Internet Access as they shifted from textbooks to online learning. And her children, she it would me, were in risk of falling behind. Thanks to acp, she got her internet for free, and and i can see her face right now. She looked at me with a combination of grave worry and deep frustration and said she truly did not know what was going to happen for her, for her family if and when acp goes away. Tim lake was a senior in lake county, illinois. Hes 80 but was spry, active, was wearing a trench coat and was dressed impeck if by impeccably. Said that he was computer illiterate, had never even turned on a computer in his great 80 years on this earth. Of when he first heard of acp, like many of you in the room who have worked with folks in getting focused enrolled, he said it was just too good to be true. And so he hesitated for a really long time. Thanks to acp, he got Digital Literacy sources courses, sent his first text message to his grown daughter. Her reply, of course, was, dad, welcome to the 21st century. [laughter] thought that was fun. But like many seniors, tim also took advantage of broadband and had a significant medical diagnosis as well. Acp has helped him with his telethe health. Telehealth. Last story. I could go on. You know, ive met people from portland to seattle, santa fe. I know senator lujan will be here, i understand, later, and ive had the great pleasure of traveling out there with him to visit tribal communities, talk to them about acp. Chicago, atlanta, engine. All folks have their new jersey. All folks have their own life, but today all have a similar message when youre talking to these low income households. And so is deborah also is in federal housing assistance. Moved away from her family and her church community, told me that thanks to acp she now finds herself hooked on the internet. She goes to church online, zoom to church, and and speaks to her grandkids every week. Shes taking advantage as well to use mapquest. She mapquests everything before she decided to go outside of her house. [laughter] started a knitting business online. And i was there visiting her just after valentines day. She said she has started Online Dating for seniors. I didnt ask any more questions [laughter] but i wish her luck. But when we discussed the end of this program, she asked me as well what am i going to do to keep up with what this has put in my life . And she said as well in a truly heartbreaking way, am i going to have to eat less food . Thats just crazy, yall. So the time has come. The time has come to act. Without additional appropriations from congress, we Just Announced that april will be the last fullyfunded month of acp. So this means that in a few short weeks, millions of americans will no longer have access to connect cannivity that they have come to rely on for their health care, for their job, for connections with their family, their kids education and more. These are the families who know what it means to try to stretch dollars. They really do. And theyre struggling to figure out how theyre going to stay online if a a cp ends if acp ends. And and truth be told, unfortunately, i predict that the end result will be that many of these households will be unable to stay online. Will be unable to stay connected. According to survey Data Collected by the fcc, 68 of households 68 of households say they had inconsistent or zero connectivity prior to acp. 80 of them citing affordability as the reason for their lack of connectivity. This same survey reported that 77 of respondents say that losing their acp benefit would disrupt their service is, make them change their plans or drop Internet Service completely. Another study the of unconnected households found that the mean price, the mean price respondents say they could pay would be at most 10. The majority of them said they couldnt may anything. And a majority of these households are subscription vulnerable meaning that they find the internet very difficult to fit into their monthly budgets. And so taking a step back and looking at sol of the macro policies in place here, i just really see if acp goes away there are very limited options. A few states do have aforce about affordability programs that could serve as a backstop. So then that means were looking to what i will say generously is the charity of Internet Service providers. Isps have agreed to create low cost plans in pickup with acp in partnership with acp. Many of you were there when we were at the white house where they announced that over 80 of folks would be now able to have Free Internet. 80 . But theres little, little Business Case i foresee for isps the keep nearly 24 million households connected for free in the absence of support. And so were funding to collapso lapse, the loss of trust is a significant factor for these subscribers. I think thatd be substantial and would be difficult to stand up acp or some it e ration of it as a Replacement Program in the future including trying to just keep these households online at all. So i think this would be a devastate thing, devastating loss of households conductivity. Correct it. Connect it. And truly to have the human almost element of this, i think, would be devastating to these households. Nearly a quarter of teens living in households making less than 30,000 per year say they sometimes cannot complete their homework. Again, the homework gap weve long heard about due to the lack of reliable computer Internet Access. The commissioning of the survey shows among students 18 to 24, 75 are using acp to complete their schoolwork. Access to the internet also a increases enrollment in earnings for low income users. That benefits us all, right . Access to telehealth is a game request changer. Data showing it increases access to care, decreases costs. And 72 of acp households report using their Broadband Service to schedule those health care appointments. And so these stud