The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that a major Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provider has voluntarily repaid $49.4 million that it improperly claimed between June 2021 and July 2022.
The ACP offers eligible low-income households a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service and up to $75 per month for eligible households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
The FCC OIG said that the provider disclosed its improper claims and repaid the monies after OIG sent the provider a warning letter and requested that the provider explain its claims data which indicated noncompliance with program usage requirements.
The OIG noted that 90 percent ($44.5 million) of the improper claims disclosed by the provider were related to low-income households that were not using the service as required by FCC program rules. On top of that, the provider also repaid $2.6 million for improper enrollments associated with the National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision and $2.3 million for claims associated with other compliance issues.
In total, the provider repaid approximately one-third of the program disbursements it received for providing ACP service between June 2021 and July 2022. The FCC explained that the provider began making improper claims while participating in the ACP’s predecessor program, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB). The OIG said that the provider continued to seek improper reimbursements as EBB was replaced by ACP.
In addition to the repayment announcement, the FCC OIG also issued an advisory to describe its concern that program data indicates dozens of other ACP providers are likely not complying with FCC usage and related de-enrollments rules.
The OIG said it encourages all ACP providers to examine their usage monitoring procedures, fully disclose any deficiencies to the FCC, and promptly repay any improperly claimed funds. If that doesn’t happen, the OIG said it will target suspected offenders for investigation and appropriate legal sanctions, including criminal prosecution.
“Today’s announcement is a significant victory for ACP program integrity, but more must be done,” said FCC Acting Inspector General Sharon Diskin. “All ACP providers should take note of today’s advisory and reconfirm their compliance with ACP usage and de-enrollment requirements. The Commission should act as well. Current FCC rules do not require ACP providers to report any objective measure of individual subscriber usage when seeking program support each month. Without such data, the FCC cannot confirm that program beneficiaries are actually using the broadband service the federal government subsidizes each month.”
