April 2020

In one of the most far-ranging attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus, Apple and Google said they were building software into smartphones that would tell people if they were recently in contact with someone who was infected with the virus. The technology giants said they were teaming up to release the tool within several months, building it into the operating systems of the billions of iPhones and Android devices around the world.

Unfortunately, the FCC is publishing eligibility maps that bear little relationship to where there is or is not actually coverage. The analysis itself notes that the maps released April 9 may bear little resemblance to the areas actually available for funding in an auction, which is extremely concerning. At a time when everyone is recognizing the importance of bridging the digital divide, the FCC seems intent on moving forward with spending $9 billion without bothering to measure the scope of the problem they are purporting to solve.

On March 19, 2020, Reps Darren Soto (D-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to urge his full consideration of policies that would protect Americans' access to communications services by ensuring that no one gets their cell phone, landline, or internet access disconnected during the COVID-19 national emergency.

House Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep Don Young (R-AK) introduced H.R. 6474, the Healthcare Broadband Expansion During COVID-19 Act, a bipartisan bill to provide $2 billion to expand telehealth and high-quality internet connectivity at public and nonprofit healthcare facilities, including mobile clinics and temporary health facilities deployed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Healthcare providers pay an average of over $40,000 per year for broadband connectivity.