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As the clock expires on new enrollments, Gigi Sohn, the executive director for the American Association for Public Broadband, said she remains hopeful that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program will be renewed.

Enrollment for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has frozen, as of 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 7, according to the website for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but advocates like Gigi Sohn believe that momentum is on their side to keep the program alive.

Sohn, the American Association for Public Broadband’s executive director, has been a leading voice to keep the program, which provides subsidies for nearly 23 million Americans to help pay for broadband services.

The American Broadband Campaign, an organization where Sohn serves as the spokeswoman, has recorded more than 400,000 “touches,” also known as individual outreaches, to U.S. legislators on behalf of efforts to save the ACP.

“I don’t think anyone needs to be convinced this is a benefit,” Sohn told Broadband Communities shortly after ACP enrollment froze.

Sohn said some key Republicans on Capitol Hill want to reform the ACP before giving the program more money, but Sohn added that she doesn’t think there is enough time to reform the program before funding expires in April of this year. She said those conversations should have happened a year ago.

“It’s a tough slog,” she said. “I do like the momentum I’m seeing. I’m also seeing a lot of dysfunction in Congress.”

Sohn said there is roughly a month on the clock left for efforts to renew ACP funding in the House of Representatives to make it out of the appropriations stage.

The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024, which has been sponsored in the House of Representatives by members of Congress from both parties, like Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would provide an additional $7 billion to fund the program for another year.

If funding is not renewed, Sohn said it will impact big and small ISPs negatively as both small and large providers rely on the ACP as a revenue stream. She also said the program’s absence could make it harder to motivate ISPs to build networks in rural areas.

“Sand is running out of the hourglass,” she said.

The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands, according to the FCC.

Households were eligible to join the ACP if their income is at or below 200 percent of poverty guidelines set by the government.

Reach Brad Randall at brad.randall@totaltele.com.