FCC Commissioner Starks: Newly Unemployed Need Affordable Broadband Option

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks spoke about internet inequality during a USTelecom webinar "The Role of Connectivity in Digital Equity and Inclusion." Commissioner Starks said he uses the term internet inequality rather than the digital divide because beyond the issue of access was the issue of affordability. He said there are millions of Americans who simply can't afford the internet. While the rural digital divide is very important, Commissioner Starks said the lack of connectivity in certain urban areas was a problem he was increasingly fixated on.  

Commissioner Starks said that for 40 million recently unemployed, the government needs to get them an affordable option of a $10, $11 or $12 per month broadband connection. He said people should not have to choose between paying for food or for broadband connectivity, "so Congress is going to have to address that issue," including putting broadband bucks into any future COVID-19 aid legislation. "There is a moral component to the fact that we have so many Americans that are still getting left behind," he said.