II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4208 

To authorize annual appropriations for the Affordable Connectivity Program, 

to expand the Universal Service Fund to support the Affordable 

Connectivity Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Mr. FETTERMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize annual appropriations for the Affordable 

Connectivity Program, to expand the Universal Service 

Fund to support the Affordable Connectivity Program, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Affordable 

5 Connectivity Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF RELATIONSHIP TO UNIVERSAL 

2 SERVICE CONTRIBUTIONS; FCC BORROWING 

3 AUTHORITY FOR AFFORDABLE 

4 CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM. 

5 Section 904(i) of division N of the Consolidated Ap6 propriations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1752(i)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking paragraph (4); 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para9 graph (4); and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) BORROWING AUTHORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year pe13 riod beginning on the date of enactment of the 

14 Promoting Affordable Connectivity Act of 2024, 

15 the Commission may borrow from the Treasury 

16 of the United States an amount not to exceed 

17 $25,000,000,000, to be used in the same man18 ner as amounts in the Affordable Connectivity 

19 Fund. 

20 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—Not later than 8 

21 years after the date as of which the amend22 ments made by subsections (a) and (b)(1) of 

23 section 3 of the Promoting Affordable 

24 Connectivity Act of 2024 have been imple25 mented, as determined by the Commission, the 

26 Commission shall, using amounts from the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208

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1 eral universal service support mechanisms, re2 imburse the general fund of the Treasury for 

3 any amounts borrowed under subparagraph (A) 

4 of this paragraph.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND TO SUP6 PORT AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) EXPANSION OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND CON9 TRIBUTION BASE TO INCLUDE EDGE PROVIDERS AND

10 BROADBAND PROVIDERS.—Section 254 of the Commu11 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘in a 

14 manner that promotes digital equity (as defined 

15 in section 60302 of the Digital Equity Act of 

16 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1721))’’ after ‘‘all regions of 

17 the Nation’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, all 

19 providers of edge services, all broadband pro20 viders, and all enterprise broadband service pro21 viders’’ after ‘‘providers of telecommunications 

22 services’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (d)— 

24 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

25 ‘‘, EDGE PROVIDER, AND BROADBAND PROVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 May 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208

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1 VIDER’’ after ‘‘TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAR2 RIER’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘Every’’ and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every’’; 

6 (C) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), 

7 as so designated, by inserting ‘‘, every edge pro8 vider, every broadband provider, and every en9 terprise broadband service provider’’ after 

10 ‘‘Every telecommunications carrier that pro11 vides interstate telecommunications services’’; 

12 and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENTS.—In determining contribu15 tion assessments from all applicable carriers and 

16 providers for the preservation and advancement of 

17 universal service under paragraph (1), the Commis18 sion shall prioritize assessing greater contributions— 

19 ‘‘(A) for edge services with respect to 

20 which the assessment is least likely to be di21 rectly passed on as increased costs to con22 sumers through an explicit fee on invoices; and 

23 ‘‘(B) from edge providers whose annual 

24 revenue (including revenue from any subsidiary 


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1 edge provider) is greater than 

2 $5,000,000,000.’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

4 following: ‘‘For the purposes of this subsection, 

5 broadband internet access service, enterprise 

6 broadband service, and edge services shall be consid7 ered to be inherently interstate services.’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERV11 ICE.—The term ‘broadband internet access serv12 ice’— 

13 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Reg15 ulations, or any successor regulation; and 

16 ‘‘(B) does not include enterprise broadband 

17 service. 

18 ‘‘(2) BROADBAND PROVIDER.—The term 

19 ‘broadband provider’ means a provider of broadband 

20 internet access service. 

21 ‘‘(3) EDGE PROVIDER.—The term ‘edge pro22 vider’— 

23 ‘‘(A) means an entity whose primary or 

24 only business revenue is derived from providing 

25 an edge service; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

2 ‘‘(i) the Federal Government, a State, 

3 a political subdivision of a State, an Indian 

4 Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

5 Self-Determination and Education Assist6 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or any agency 

7 thereof; 

8 ‘‘(ii) any organization that is de9 scribed in subsection (c) of section 501 of 

10 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex11 empt from tax under subsection (a) of that 

12 section; 

13 ‘‘(iii) any dual or concurrent enroll14 ment program, early childhood education 

15 program, early college high school, edu16 cational service agency, elementary school, 

17 or secondary school, as those terms are de18 fined in section 8101 of the Elementary 

19 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 7801); 

21 ‘‘(iv) any area career and technical 

22 education school, as defined in section 3 of 

23 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

24 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302); 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(v) any institution of higher edu2 cation, as defined in section 102 of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1002). 

5 ‘‘(4) EDGE SERVICE.—The term ‘edge serv6 ice’— 

7 ‘‘(A) means a service that— 

8 ‘‘(i) requires the user to subscribe or 

9 establish an account in order to— 

10 ‘‘(I) access or publish content 

11 that is available publicly; or 

12 ‘‘(II) access, post, or publish con13 tent for individuals approved by the 

14 user; 

15 ‘‘(ii) allows the user to purchase, 

16 download, or access content, applications, 

17 or services from the edge provider without 

18 a subscription or account; 

19 ‘‘(iii) enables the user to initiate a 

20 search query for particular information 

21 using the internet and is capable of return22 ing at least 1 search result unaffiliated 

23 with the provider of the service; 

24 ‘‘(iv) is a cloud computing or digital 

25 advertising service; or 


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1 ‘‘(v) requires or allows the user to di2 vulge personally identifiable information of 

3 the user; 

4 ‘‘(B) includes a service described in sub5 paragraph (A) that is provided through a soft6 ware program, including a mobile application; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) does not include an online patient 

9 portal operated by a hospital or other health 

10 care provider. 

11 ‘‘(5) ENTERPRISE BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 

12 term ‘enterprise broadband service’ means any com13 munications product or service, regardless of regu14 latory classification, that— 

15 ‘‘(A) is primarily offered to business enti16 ties to support or manage business operations; 

17 ‘‘(B) is not ordinarily offered to mass mar18 ket customers; and 

19 ‘‘(C) includes transmission or a combina20 tion of transmission and information proc21 essing, whether facilities-based or resold, includ22 ing dedicated internet access, virtual private 

23 networks (commonly known as ‘VPNs’), wide 

24 area networks (commonly known as ‘WANs’), 


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1 multi-protocol label switching-enabled services, 

2 and ethernet services. 

3 ‘‘(6) ENTERPRISE BROADBAND SERVICE PRO4 VIDER.—The term ‘enterprise broadband service 

5 provider’ means a provider of enterprise broadband 

6 service. 

7 ‘‘(7) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA8 TION.—The term ‘personally identifiable informa9 tion’ means information described in clauses (i) 

10 through (vi) of subparagraph (A), or subparagraph 

11 (B), of section 101(41A) of title 11, United States 

12 Code.’’. 

13 (b) FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY

14 PROGRAM FROM UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND.— 

15 (1) MODIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE

16 FUND.—Section 254(c) of the Communications Act 

17 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(c)) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM.— 

20 The Affordable Connectivity Program established 

21 under section 904(b)(1) of division N of the Consoli22 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

23 1752(b)(1)) shall be supported by the Federal uni24 versal service support mechanisms.’’. 


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1 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN REQUIRE2 MENTS.—Section 254(e) of the Communications Act 

3 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(e)) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘After the date’’ and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After the date’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN PRO9 VIDERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The requirements 

11 under paragraph (1) shall not apply with re12 spect to the participation of a provider in the 

13 Affordable Connectivity Program established 

14 under section 904(b)(1) of division N of the 

15 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 

16 U.S.C. 1752(b)(1)). 

17 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

18 in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to apply 

19 with respect to the receipt of Federal universal 

20 service support for any purpose other than par21 ticipation in the Affordable Connectivity Pro22 gram.’’. 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

24 904(b) of division N of the Consolidated Appropria25 tions Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1752(b)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraphs (1), (4), and (5), by in2 serting ‘‘or the Universal Service Fund under 

3 section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 254)’’ after ‘‘the Affordable 

5 Connectivity Fund established in subsection (i)’’ 

6 each place that term appears; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (12), by inserting ‘‘or the 

8 Universal Service Fund under section 254 of 

9 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

10 254)’’ after ‘‘the Affordable Connectivity Fund’’ 

11 each place that term appears. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

13 (1) REGULATIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

16 Federal Communications Commission shall pro17 mulgate regulations to implement the amend18 ments made by subsections (a) and (b)(1). 

19 (B) STAGGERED IMPLEMENTATION.—In 

20 promulgating regulations under subparagraph 

21 (A), the Federal Communications Commission 

22 shall ensure that the amendments made by sub23 section (a) are implemented not later than 270 

24 days before the amendment made by subsection 

25 (b)(1) is implemented. 


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1 (C) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT RE2 QUIREMENTS.—A collection of information con3 ducted or sponsored under any regulation pro4 mulgated under subparagraph (A) shall not 

5 constitute a collection of information for the 

6 purposes of subchapter 1 of chapter 35 of title 

7 44, United States Code (commonly referred to 

8 as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). 

9 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

10 by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the 

11 date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 4. ENSURING QUICK APPLICATION OF AFFORDABLE 

13 CONNECTIVITY BENEFIT TO USER ACCOUNT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 904(b) of division N of 

15 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

16 1752(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

18 (15) as paragraphs (9) through (16), respectively; 

19 and 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(8) TIMING OF APPLICATION OF AFFORDABLE

23 CONNECTIVITY BENEFIT TO ACCOUNT OF ELIGIBLE

24 HOUSEHOLD.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

2 next billing cycle after the billing cycle in which 

3 a participating provider verifies that a house4 hold is an eligible household under paragraph 

5 (2), the participating provider shall apply the 

6 affordable connectivity benefit to the internet 

7 service offering specified by the eligible house8 hold. 

9 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 18 

10 months after the date of enactment of the Pro11 moting Affordable Connectivity Act of 2024, 

12 the Commission shall issue guidance for partici13 pating providers to comply with subparagraph 

14 (A).’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (15) of 

16 section 904(b) of division N of the Consolidated Appro17 priations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1752(b)), as so redesig18 nated by subsection (a), is amended by striking ‘‘para19 graph (12)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (13)’’. 

20 SEC. 5. FLEXIBILITY TO MODIFY AFFORDABLE 

21 CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

22 Section 904 of division N of the Consolidated Appro23 priations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 1752) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(k) AUTHORITY TO REVISE PROGRAM REQUIRE2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As may be appropriate to 

4 improve the functionality, administrability, or sus5 tainability of the Affordable Connectivity Program, 

6 the Commission may promulgate regulations to alter 

7 or eliminate any requirement for the program under 

8 this section, including a requirement related to eligi9 bility or benefit reimbursements. 

10 ‘‘(2) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT REQUIRE11 MENTS.—A collection of information conducted or 

12 sponsored under any regulation promulgated under 

13 paragraph (1) shall not constitute a collection of in14 formation for the purposes of subchapter 1 of chap15 ter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly re16 ferred to as the ‘Paperwork Reduction Act’).’’. 

Æ 


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