A. The FCC has announced the last fully funded month will be April 2024. A partial ACP benefit may be applied in May 2024. All households enrolled in the program will receive the benefit through the end of the program or as long as they remain enrolled.

A. Providers are required to notify customers three times in writing:

• First Notice: by January 25, 2024, ACP households should have received their first written notice from their internet company informing them that the ACP is ending and the impact on their service and bill.
• Second Notice: By March 19, 2024, ACP households will receive their second written notice from their internet company informing them that April 2024 will be the last fully funded month where the $30/month ACP discount (or $75/month ACP discount for those on Tribal Lands) will be applied to their bill.
• Final (Third) Notice: This notice will be included as part of the last bill or billing cycle in which the full ACP discount is applied.
• The notices must indicate that the ACP is ending and include
  • (1) the date of the last bill on which the full ACP benefit will be applied 
  • (2) the amount that the household will be billed for the service once the full ACP benefit is no longer available or that the household will be subject to the provider’s undiscounted rates and general terms and conditions after the end of the ACP.
  • (3) remind ACP households of their right to change their service or opt out of continuing their service at the end of the ACP.
• The FCC encourages ACP internet companies to send additional notices and include additional information on any low-cost internet plans or how to obtain information on low-cost plans. ACP households should closely review notices they get from their internet company.
• The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will raise awareness of the ACP Wind-Down, and USAC will directly notify ACP Households of the program’s end multiple times.

The ACP was not intended to place additional financial burdens on eligible households, and consumer protections are designed to protect consumers from financial harm. If an individual is enrolled in the ACP and receives ACP-supported services, they have the following consumer protections during the ACP Wind-down:

• May transfer ACP benefits to other providers during the wind-down period. 
• ISPs cannot terminate service for 90 days after the payment due date. When a household enters a delinquent status, the provider may switch the household to a lower-cost plan. However, the provider must provide advance notice to the household.
• ISPs cannot charge early termination fees to eligible households who purchased and applied the ACP benefit to their service plans. This includes service contracts that continue to apply after the end of the ACP. Suppose a household entered into a service plan with an extended service contract, applied their ACP benefit to such a service plan, and decided to terminate the service contract early. In that case, the provider cannot charge the household an early termination fee for terminating that service contract early, even after the household stops receiving the ACP benefit.

A. The FCC announced a partial continuation of ACP benefits for May but with reductions. 

Here is what households participating in the ACP can expect for May:

• If a participating household gets a monthly benefit of $30, they will get $14 in May.
• If a participating household qualifies for the $75 Tribal benefit, they will get $35 in May.
• If a participating household plans on using the one-time device benefit of $100, the partial benefit will be $47 in May.

Important Information for May

• ISPs don’t have to participate in the partial benefit month and can stop giving out the ACP benefit after April. 
• If a participating household chooses to keep its internet service after the full benefit ends in April, the ISP must inform the household if the partial benefit applies to them and how much it will be.
• The partial benefit will only be applied to the participating household’s May bill.
• After May, a participating household will pay the full price for their internet service set by the ISP. The ISP will also let the household know that they will be subject to their general terms and conditions following the end of the ACP.

We don’t know precisely when ISPs will contact participating households in May. They might include this information with other notices households already receive, or they might send a separate message.