FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel

While I fundamentally disagree with the merits of the Federal Communications Commission’s [net neutrality] proposal, what is equally concerning is the lack of integrity to the FCC’s process that has led to this point.

To review, the FCC has held zero public hearings. The FCC has knowingly maintained a system that has already been corrupted and is susceptible to abuse. This has led to the following problems:

[Commentary] Net neutrality is the right to go where you want and do what you want on the internet without your broadband provider getting in the way. It means your broadband provider can’t block websites, throttle services or charge you premiums if you want to reach certain online content. Proponents of wiping out these rules think that by allowing broadband providers more control and the ability to charge for premium access, it will spur investment. This is a dubious proposition. Wiping out net neutrality would have big consequences.

Today the Federal Communications Commission circulated its sweeping roll back of our network neutrality rules. Following actions earlier in 2017 to erase consumer privacy protections, the Commission now wants to wipe out court-tested rules and a decade’s work in order to favor cable and telephone companies. This is ridiculous and offensive to the millions of Americans who use the Internet every day. Our Internet economy is the envy of the world because it is open to all. This proposal tears at the foundation of that openness.

Next week the agency plans to vote on an Order clearing the way for Next Generation Television. That means the agency is set to vote to on the introduction of ATSC 3.0. In other words, we are set to change the television standard yet again. I think the way the FCC plans to proceed is no great boon for consumers. It’s a tax on every household with a television. It’s time for the FCC to go back to the drawing board and find a less disruptive way to facilitate broadcast innovation. There’s a way to do it.

Even though our net neutrality policies are now legally viable and wildly popular, the leadership at the Commission wants to revisit Internet openness. It has started a proceeding that tears at the foundation of net neutrality. It has proposed cutting the rules we have and instead offering our broadband providers the power to favor sites, content, and ideas; the power to discriminate with our traffic; and the power to become censors and gatekeepers for all that is online. If you want an example, look no further than what happened during the last 14 days with the #MeToo movement.

The Federal Communications Commission has taken action to address the Homework Gap, but we need to do more—and I believe that more takes place at the state and local level. We need to tap into the creative efforts to bridge the Homework Gap in communities across the country—and make sure that federal policy supports these efforts.

The State Education Technology Directors Association report calls attention to some of these local initiatives. As we wrestle with the new challenges of technology, access, and equity, local solutions deserve federal support. Cooperative policymaking between state and federal authorities is the way forward—just like it has always been the way to tackle our hardest and most intractable problems. By working together we can bridge the Homework Gap and close the cruelest part of the digital divide. And when we do we are going to be able to turn all of our students—all of our students—into not just digital consumers but digital creators. We are going to build a better education system, a stronger economy, and a brighter future.

[Commentary] There was a time, not that long ago, when paper and pencil were all that homework required. But as Anthony W. Marx notes, that time has passed. In urban areas, rural areas and everywhere in between, students who lack Internet service at home have difficulty doing their nightly schoolwork. Many of them cobble together whatever connectivity they can, picking up free Wi-Fi signals in front of libraries, in school parking lots, and at fast-food restaurants. Credit them with creativity and resilience. But getting homework done should not be this hard. Solving this problem will take a mix of initiatives.

Already the Federal Communications Commission has updated its program supporting connectivity in low-income households to include broadband. Many broadband providers have low-cost offerings, and we need to ensure that schools and students are aware of them. We also need federal policies to increase unlicensed spectrum, which is used to support Wi-Fi. Finally, we need to keep tabs on local efforts — from outfitting school buses with wireless service to lending out library hot spots — and make sure that successful programs are copied elsewhere.

First up is texting. The Federal Communications Commission is set to codify policies that make sure that providers of text messages have systems capable of supporting text-to-911 service. This means that texting services that have become so essential for so many of us can be there for everyone when reaching out in crisis.

Second, I want to update you on wireless 911 location accuracy. Today, under the FCC’s rules, if you call 911 from a wired phone, first responders know where you are and where to send help. If you call 911 from a wireless phone outdoors, the FCC has standards that help ensure first responders can locate you and send assistance. But if you call 911 from a wireless phone indoors, you should cross your fingers and hope and pray, because no location accuracy standards apply. So the FCC started a rulemaking to narrow this gap and fix this problem.

Finally, the First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) just launched what are called Initial Consultations under the law. This is an essential step in the development of state plans. But that’s not all. FirstNet is in the development stages of preparing a draft request for a proposal. This is the beginning of the critical process to identify a comprehensive network solution for the nationwide network.

The thought of losing or misplacing our devices is scary. More frightening, still, is having them stolen.

But theft of mobile phones is surging. One in three robberies now includes the theft of a mobile device. When you add in the cost of lost personal and financial data and identity theft, it can cost American consumers as much as $30 billion a year.

By introducing legislation and speaking up they are shining a light on this problem -- and pressing for solutions.

As a result, we have a commitment from manufacturers and wireless providers to support anti-theft solutions in new phones. These solutions should be available at no cost to consumers. They should help wipe sensitive data from devices remotely and render them inoperable by bad actors.

I want to discuss efforts at the Federal Communications Commission that involve libraries. Specifically, I want to talk about our efforts to reboot, reinvigorate, and recharge E-Rate -- or what I like to call E-Rate 2.0. And before I finish, I want to talk about another hot topic before the FCC -- our efforts on network neutrality.

The E-Rate program, as some of you may know, is the nation’s largest educational technology program -- and it’s run by the FCC. E-Rate helps connect all of our schools and libraries to modern communications and the Internet. Our records suggest that 80 percent of schools and libraries believe their broadband connections do not meet their current needs. Eighty percent! So let’s be honest. Those needs are only going to grow.

Nationwide, in nearly two-thirds of communities, libraries are the only place people can access the Internet for free. Libraries have reported to the FCC that every year they see more and more requests to use public access computers and get online. Moreover, more and more information resources are headed to libraries in digital format, putting more pressure than ever before on bandwidth. Plus, for those who lack access to broadband at home, libraries are a lifeline. Because access to broadband is access to opportunity.

Access to broadband in libraries means access to jobs. Consider this -- 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies now require those seeking jobs to apply online. Access to broadband in libraries means access to education. Access to broadband in libraries also means access to information -- for all.

But if we want to keep up and make sure our libraries have the bandwidth necessary to support this opportunity, we need a revitalized E-Rate. We need E-Rate 2.0. There are three essential elements of E-Rate reform: Speed, Simplify, and Spending Smart.

Now I want to end by briefly talking about something else that is before the FCC -- network neutrality. I have real concerns about FCC Chairman Wheeler’s proposal on network neutrality -- which is before the agency right now. His proposal has unleashed a torrent of public response.

Tens of thousands of e-mails, hundreds of calls, commentary all across the Internet. We need to respect that input and we need time for that input. So while I recognize the urgency to move ahead and develop rules with dispatch, I think the greater urgency comes in giving the American public opportunity to speak right now, before we head down this road.

For this reason, I think we should delay our consideration of his rules by a least a month. I believe that rushing headlong into a rulemaking fails to respect the public response to his proposal.