Alert 03.11.21
Congress Passes $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
President Biden signs relief bill into law and begins implementation.
Alert
Alert
By Lee G. Petro,
03.12.21
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the latest COVID-19 relief package signed into law on March 11, 2021, includes several provisions that target funding for broadband connectivity and infrastructure projects. Specifically, the law provides $7.1 billion to support connectivity and the purchase of eligible devices for schools and libraries, and establishes additional sources of funding for broadband through support to state and local governments, as well as payment assistance to individuals facing financial hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
Emergency Connectivity Fund
Under the recently enacted legislation, the FCC has 60 days to issue rules providing for the administration of a $7.1 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) to support eligible schools and libraries in purchasing broadband and certain equipment for both remote and in-person learning. ECF funds will reimburse schools and libraries for 100% of the costs of such eligible devices and/or connectivity, and such funds will remain available until 2030. Note that although the Universal Service Administrative Company, which oversees the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) programs, will administer the Fund, the ECF emergency funds and USF contributions will remain separate. Equipment eligible for reimbursement under the ECF program includes Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, devices that combine modem and router, laptops, tablets, and other connected devices.
Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Starks welcomed the additional funding for schools and libraries, stressing the importance of this support to facilitate remote learning and virtual classroom instruction.
Broadband Funding for Infrastructure and Payment Assistance to Individuals Facing Financial Hardship
In addition to the funding aimed at keeping schools and libraries connected, the American Rescue Plan also includes funding for broadband infrastructure and support to individual households for the cost of broadband service. As part of the $190 billion appropriated to the states and the District of Columbia, states may use their funding allocations for, among other things, costs associated with certain investments in broadband infrastructure. States must have incurred such costs by December 31, 2024. Further, the law establishes a Homeowner Assistance Fund to mitigate financial hardships resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The $10 billion fund will provide funds for distribution by the states to prevent mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures, loss of utilities, and displacement for homeowners facing financial hardship. The payment assistance available under this program includes assistance for the cost of internet service, including broadband service, as a qualified expense.
An Update on Additional Broadband-Related Measures Enacted as Part of COVID-19 Relief
This new funding follows on the heels of the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program that was established and funded through the December 2020 COVID-19 legislation. Similar to the new ECF Program, USAC will administer the EBB Program to subsidize broadband service providers for providing internet service to low-income households. The FCC adopted the rules for the new program on February 26, 2021, and recently released a timeline establishing the process by which broadband service providers can qualify to participate in the program. The window for eligible providers to state their intention to participate in the program opened on March 11, 2021.