§ 54.1809 De-enrollment from the Affordable Connectivity Program. ( a ) *De-enrollment generally.* If a participating provider has a reasonable basis to believe that an Affordable Connectivity Program subscriber does not meet or no longer meets the criteria to be considered an eligible household under § 54.1805, the participating provider shall notify the subscriber of impending termination of his or her affordable connectivity benefit. Notification of impending termination shall be sent in writing separate from the subscriber's monthly bill, if one is provided, and shall be written in clear, easily understood language. The participating provider shall allow a subscriber 30 days following the date of the impending termination letter to demonstrate continued eligibility. A subscriber making such a demonstration shall present proof of continued eligibility to the National Verifier or the participating provider consistent with the participating provider's approved alternative verification process. A participating provider shall de-enroll any subscriber who fails to demonstrate eligibility within five business days after the expiration of the subscriber's deadline to respond.
( b ) *De-enrollment for duplicative support.* Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, upon notification by the Administrator to any participating provider that a subscriber is receiving the affordable connectivity benefit from another participating provider, or that more than one member of a subscriber's household is receiving the affordable connectivity benefit and that the subscriber should be de-enrolled from participation in that provider's Affordable Connectivity Program, the participating provider shall de-enroll the subscriber from participation in that provider's Affordable Connectivity Program within five business days. A participating provider shall not claim any de-enrolled subscriber for Affordable Connectivity Program reimbursement following the date of that subscriber's de-enrollment.
( c ) *De-enrollment for non-usage.* Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, if an Affordable Connectivity Program subscriber fails to use, as “usage” is defined in § 54.407(c)(2), for 30 consecutive days an Affordable Connectivity Program service that does not require the participating provider to assess and collect a monthly fee from its subscribers, the participating provider shall provide the subscriber 15 days' notice, using clear, easily understood language, that the subscriber's failure to use the Affordable Connectivity Program service within the 15-day notice period will result in service termination for non-usage under this paragraph (c).
( d ) *De-enrollment for failure to re-certify.* Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, a participating provider shall de-enroll an Affordable Connectivity Program subscriber who does not respond to the provider's attempts to obtain re-certification of the subscriber's continued eligibility as required by § 54.1806(f); or who fails to provide the annual one-per-household re-certification as required by § 54.1806(f)(6). Prior to de-enrolling a subscriber under this paragraph, the provider shall notify the subscriber in writing separate from the subscriber's monthly bill, if one is provided, using clear, easily understood language, that failure to respond to the re-certification request will trigger de-enrollment. A subscriber shall be given 60 days to respond to recertification efforts. If a subscriber does not respond to the provider's notice of impending de-enrollment, the provider shall de-enroll the subscriber from the Affordable Connectivity Program within five business days after the expiration of the subscriber's time to respond to the re-certification efforts.
( e ) *De-enrollment requested by subscriber.* If a participating provider receives a request from a subscriber to de-enroll from the Affordable Connectivity Program, it shall de-enroll the subscriber within two business days after the request.
[87 FR 8373, Feb. 14, 2022, as amended at 87 FR 8383, Feb. 14, 2022]