[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21500-21502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06779]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 54
[WC Docket No. 21-450; FCC 23-15; FRS 134199]
Affordable Connectivity Program
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final order.
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SUMMARY: In the Fifth Report and Order, the Federal Communications
Commission (Commission or FCC) offers an additional funding opportunity
of up to $10 million for the National Competitive Outreach Grant
Program (NCOP) and the Tribal Competitive Outreach Grant Program
(TCOP), which are components of the Affordable Connectivity Outreach
Grant Program (Outreach Grant Program).
DATES: Effective April 11, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Graham, Attorney Advisor,
Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau,
at (202) 418-7400 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's Fifth
Report and Order (Order) in WC Docket No. 21-450, FCC 23-15, adopted on
March 13, 2023 and released on March 15, 2023. The full text of this
document is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-15A1.pdf.
I. Introduction
1. In the Order, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission)
directs the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau)
[[Page 21501]]
to offer an additional funding opportunity of up to $10 million for the
National Competitive Outreach Grant Program (NCOP) and the Tribal
Competitive Outreach Grant Program (TCOP), which are components of the
Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (Outreach Grant
Program). This maximum of $10 million will come from a combination of:
(a) unspent funding--funding previously allocated to the Outreach Grant
Program but not awarded; and (b) unobligated funding--funding from the
$100 million Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) outreach budget that
the Commission has not yet allocated to specific outreach efforts. The
Commission directs the Bureau to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity
(NOFO) to initiate the application process for this additional funding.
2. The ACP plays an integral role in helping to bridge the digital
divide, which remains a top priority for the Commission. As part of its
efforts to encourage participation in the ACP, the Commission
established the Outreach Grant Program in order to engage with partners
around the country to help inform ACP-eligible households about the
program in their local communities, with funding and resources to
support such outreach and community engagement. The extensive demand
for ACP outreach funding so far underscores the need for these funds
and the importance of reaching the eligible households that have not
yet enrolled in the ACP. This new funding opportunity for ACP outreach
is intended to provide additional funding awards beyond the outreach
grant awards announced by the Commission on March 10, 2023. Directing
the Bureau to offer an additional outreach grant funding opportunity
will allow additional eligible entities to receive grant awards to
conduct this necessary outreach to increase participation among those
Americans most in need of affordable connectivity.
3. Pursuant to the authority provided to the Commission in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), Public Law
117-58, sec. 60502(a)(3), 135 Stat. 429, 1240 (2021),the Commission
previously designated up to $100 million for all ACP outreach. Out of
this $100 million, the Commission directed the Bureau in August 2022 to
designate up to $60 million to be competitively allocated to eligible
entities and to also designate a minimum of $10 million for grants
specifically for ACP outreach to persons who live on qualifying Tribal
lands. In November 2022, consistent with the Commission's funding
designations, the Bureau issued a NOFO for up to $60 million for NCOP
and a minimum of $10 million for TCOP. Hundreds of applicants applied
for these programs, and the demand for national competitive grant
funding exceeded the $60 million budget for this program.
4. To expand the number of entities raising awareness of the ACP
with the goal of increasing enrollments among eligible households, the
Commission directs the Bureau to offer an additional funding
opportunity for NCOP and TCOP totaling up to $10 million, to be
distributed among each program equally insofar as possible. The
additional funding for this funding opportunity will come from unspent
Outreach Grant Program funding and ACP outreach funding not previously
designated for specific ACP outreach activities, such that total
funding including this additional NOFO does not exceed the $100 million
previously designated for all ACP outreach in the Affordable
Connectivity Program Order (ACP Order, 87 FR 8346, February 14, 2022.
This approach carefully balances the demand for additional grant
funding with the importance of maintaining fiscal responsibility of the
ACP by staying within the $100 million budget the Commission
established for all ACP outreach. The Bureau will continue to have the
delegated authority outlined in the Second ACP Order, 87 FR 54311,
September 6, 2022, in coordination with the Wireline Competition Bureau
(WCB), the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and the Office of the
Managing Director (OMD) as appropriate, to develop, administer, and
manage the Outreach Grant Program.
II. Discussion
5. The overwhelming response to the Outreach Grant Program
convinces the Commission that it is appropriate to issue a new funding
opportunity for NCOP and TCOP, to be distributed equally between the
programs to the extent feasible. This necessarily means raising the $60
million upper limit on funding for NCOP. Therefore, the Commission
directs the Bureau to release another funding opportunity for up to $10
million, with the funding to come from unspent Outreach Grant Program
funding and funding from the $100 million ACP outreach budget not
already obligated for specific outreach activities. The Commission also
directs the Bureau to issue a NOFO to solicit applications for this
additional funding opportunity.
6. Allocation of Funds. Due to the demand for outreach grant
funding above the $60 million cap for NCOP set forth in the Second ACP
Order and NOFO for that program, and due to the continued pressing need
for outreach to persons on qualifying Tribal lands, the Commission
directs the Bureau to offer a funding opportunity of up to a combined
total of $10 million for NCOP and TCOP. For this funding opportunity,
the Commission directs the Bureau to use funding from: (a) the $100
million ACP outreach budget that has not been obligated to other ACP
outreach activities, such as funds available for the FCC's own ACP
outreach, and (b) any unspent Outreach Grant Program funding, i.e.,
funding not awarded through the initial notices of funding opportunity
for the Outreach Grant Program. Although the Commission intends for the
Bureau to divide the maximum of $10 million equally between NCOP and
TCOP (e.g., $5 million per program), if the amount that will be awarded
to applicants to either program is less than $5 million, the Commission
authorizes the Bureau to transfer the balance from one program to the
other, notwithstanding any funding minimums established in the Second
ACP Order or this Order.
7. The funding requested by grant applicants in response to the
NOFO for the National Competitive Outreach Grant Program supports the
Commission's decision to make available more funding for competitive
grants to allow additional trusted outreach partners to increase
awareness of and encourage enrollment in the ACP. The Commission
established the Outreach Grant Program to provide a range of outreach
partners with funding and resources in an effort to help inform
households about the ACP and thus increase participation among those
Americans most in need of affordable broadband connectivity. The
Commission designated funds to the Outreach Grant Program, including
the $60 million maximum for competitive allocation, with the
``expect[ation] that the allocated budget . . . will support extensive,
meaningful outreach by numerous eligible outreach partners.'' As made
apparent by the overwhelming response to the Commission's initial
Outreach Grant Program funding opportunity, the need for extensive,
meaningful ACP outreach has not diminished. Consequently, the
Commission raises the $60 million funding cap for NCOP and directs the
Bureau to offer a new funding opportunity for this program.
8. The Commission also directs the Bureau to make that funding
opportunity available for TCOP. ACP outreach to persons on qualifying
Tribal lands is a Commission priority, and an additional funding
opportunity for
[[Page 21502]]
TCOP will facilitate this vital outreach. The Commission's intent is to
maximize the number of entities conducting ACP outreach to residents on
qualifying Tribal lands, and the Commission thus directs the Bureau to
make eligible Tribal governments and Tribal organizations aware of this
funding opportunity and how to apply for it, including but not limited
to by providing information sessions tailored to prospective Tribal
applicants during the TCOP application window and highlighting changes
in the NOFO from the initial NOFO for the Tribal program.
9. The Commission declines at this time, however, to increase the
$100 million budget for all ACP outreach established in the ACP Order
and reaffirmed in the Second ACP Order. That budget balances the
anticipated need for extensive ACP outreach with the responsibility to
ensure that ample funds remain to provide the ACP benefit to qualifying
households for as long as possible. Therefore, the funding opportunity
established in the Order will not result in any changes to this $100
million figure.
10. Additional Notice of Funding Opportunity. The Commission
directs the Bureau to issue a NOFO for the NCOP and TCOP funding
designated in the Order. The notice will provide detailed information
including the entities eligible for the funding, fundable expenses and
activities, application and evaluation processes, reporting
requirements, and other rules and requirements for the funding. The
Commission further directs the Bureau to limit the additional funding
opportunity designated in the Order to entities that do not receive
funding from the first round of disbursements in the Outreach Grant
Program, including as a pass-through entity or subrecipient. Expanding
the number of entities performing ACP outreach will increase the
likelihood of contacting consumers not reached by existing efforts.
11. Except as expressly set forth in the Order, the new NOFO and
awards remain subject to the statutes, regulations, directives, and
guidance discussed, promulgated, or otherwise set forth in the Second
ACP Order. In that order, the Commission established the goal and
objectives of the Outreach Grant Program; provided examples of types of
eligible entities and types of outreach activities and expenses that
could be considered for funding; allocated funding set-asides for
specific types of grantees; established important safeguards to promote
program integrity and guard against potential waste, fraud, and abuse;
adopted and implemented grant regulations; directed the Bureau to
develop, manage, and administer the Outreach Grant Program; provided
guidance and regulatory requirements for the framework of the Outreach
Grant Program; and addressed other requirements and administrative
aspects of the program. The Commission believes that these parameters,
except to the extent expressly deviated from in the Order, provide the
necessary structure and guidelines for this additional round of
Outreach Grant Program available funding, consistent with the
Commission's authority under applicable federal statutes and
regulations.
12. The Commission emphasizes that the Bureau retains the authority
granted in the Second ACP Order to administer the Outreach Grant
Program in a cost-effective manner. This includes the authority to
limit the types of entities that may be eligible for a particular
notice of funding opportunity; to prioritize certain types of
applications; to revise allowable costs and cap certain expenses; to
tailor the grant application process templates or submission windows to
accommodate different types of grants or funding opportunities; and to
educate prospective applicants about the grant program and the
application process.
13. For instance, to ensure the most efficient use and distribution
of additional NCOP funding, the Bureau could, informed by previous
experience with the Outreach Grant Program, limit the categories of
eligible entities for this additional funding opportunity to the types
of entities that would best maximize the reach, impact, and
effectiveness of the additional NCOP funding. The Bureau could likewise
limit the entities eligible for TCOP under the funding opportunity
established by the Order. The Bureau could also limit the number of
subrecipients permissible for an applicant applying as a pass-through
entity or shorten or lengthen any application window to ensure
efficient administration of the NOFO or otherwise meet the needs of a
particular funding opportunity. Additionally, the Commission emphasizes
that the Bureau may, prior to issuing a NOFO, conduct grant workshops
and targeted outreach about the grant program to encourage quality
grant applications.
14. Further, because there has already been one opportunity for
eligible entities to apply for national competitive grants, for this
funding opportunity the Bureau is not bound by the minimum allocation
for States and Territories set forth in the Second ACP Order, and the
Bureau need not consider such allocations in developing this new
funding opportunity. Nor is the Bureau, for this new funding
opportunity, necessarily required to ensure that future NCOP awards be
made to ``diverse geographic regions and entity sizes or types.''
III. Procedural Matters
15. Paperwork Reduction Act. Pursuant to section 1752(h) of the
Infrastructure Act, the collection of information sponsored or
conducted under the regulations promulgated in the Fifth Report and
Order is deemed not to constitute a collection of information for the
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521.
16. Congressional Review Act. The Commission has determined, and
the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget concurs, that this rule is ``non-
major'' under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The
Commission will send a copy of the Fifth Report & Order, to Congress
and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
801(a)(1)(A).
IV. Ordering Clauses
17. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority
contained in Section 904 of Division N, Title IX of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182, as
amended by section 60502 of Division F, Title V of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (2021), and
the authority contained in sections 1, 4(i), and 5(c) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155(c),
1752, and the authority contained section 60502 of Division F, Title V
of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 47 U.S.C.
1752(b)(10)(C), the Fifth Report and Order is adopted.
18. It is further ordered that the Fifth Report and Order shall be
effective April 11, 2023.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-06779 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
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