The coronavirus pandemic is helping shift policy priorities for some Americans. School closures and remote work across the country are showcasing how inequities in access to high-speed broadband can impact access to education and work during a time of crisis.
Starting April 2 through May 13 we’re giving AT&T mobility consumers and small businesses more ways to connect:
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the consequences of America’s “digital divide” on full display. This dire situation makes clear the need for universal rural broadband. To finally deliver on this promise, we need an effort on the scale of the Rural Electrification Act (REA), passed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the depths of the Depression to power farms and small towns out of poverty. We must pass a 21st century version of that act, one that equips local communities with the resources they need to bring connectivity to the last mile of rural America.
The Federal Communications Commission was looking for money from Congress for remote education in the COVID-19 aid bill that passed recently, but didn't get it. An FCC official signaled on background March 30 that it is not giving up. The FCC official said to look for the FCC to renew the funding pitch for the next round of COVID-19 aid that is almost surely coming. He also cited the efforts Internet service providers are taking on their own dime, including offering free service to low-income residents with school-age children currently lacking home broadband.
Communities across the nation are working hard to address the issue of connectivity for students. But we need a national approach, not an ad-hoc strategy.
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