FCC Chairman Pai Urges Congress To Help Consumers Stay Connected Following End Of Keep Americans Connected Pledge On June 30

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai sent a letter to Congress seeking legislation to help consumers and small businesses stay connected over the coming months after the end of the Keep Americans Connected Pledge. While the Pledge expires on June 30, Chairman Pai informed Congress that he has asked companies not to disconnect consumers and small businesses who are behind on their bills due to the coronavirus pandemic in July, but instead offer the option of extended payment plans and deferred payment arrangements. He has also asked service providers in the coming months to maintain and expand their plans for low-income families and veterans as well as their remote learning plans for students.

“The Pledge has been an extraordinary success, and I commend the 785 service providers that have stepped up to the plate over the past three-and-a-half months to do the right thing during this national emergency. This public-private partnership has been critical to American consumers,” Chairman Pai said. “But broadband and telephone companies, especially small ones, cannot continue to provide service without being paid for an indefinite period of time; no business in any sector of our economy could. So I believe now is the time for legislation to ensure that doctors and patients, students and teachers, low-income families and veterans, those who have lost their jobs and livelihoods due to the pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns, those in our cities and those in the countryside—in short, all Americans—remain connected until this emergency ends." Chairman Pai said the Broadband Connectivity and Digital Equity Framework proposed by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and House Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (D-OR) is a "forward-thinking proposal to do just that.”