Here in Georgia, we believe in second chances. That is why students across the state are rallying to give the University System of Georgia another shot at getting the optional pass/fail policy right. Right now, we are struggling to accommodate the transition to online education. For one, home Wi-Fi rarely works. The University of Georgia has recognized that connectivity and access pose a huge issue for many students, so it has offered to distribute Wi-Fi hotspots. But in some places, cell service is so poor that sometimes texts won’t go through.

A US national probability-based survey during the early days of the SARS-CoV-2 spread in the US showed that, above and beyond respondents’ political party, mainstream broadcast media use (e.g., NBC News) correlated with accurate information about the disease’s lethality, and mainstream print media use (e.g., the New York Times) correlated with accurate beliefs about protection from infection.

CenturyLink’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Dugan said that some European regulators asked two groups of internet content providers to slow down their traffic in response to increased network loads stemming from the COVID-19 crisis. The two groups of content providers are over-the-top (OTT) video companies and gaming companies. EU Industry Chief Thierry Breton had urged streaming platforms including Netflix and YouTube to cooperate with telecom providers and temporarily downgrade the quality of video streaming by offering standard definition rather than high definition video.

As the COVID-19 crisis took hold and schools in Lockhart (TX) had to close and shift to remote learning, the school district quickly conducted a needs assessment. They found that half of their 6,000 students have no high-speed Internet at home. And despite being a short drive south of Austin (TX), a third of all the students and staff live in "dead zones," where Internet and cell service aren't even available. With the help of a local Internet provider, the district is installing seven booster towers outside each of its schools.

The principles we need to connect us were enshrined by a Republican-led Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In the legislation, overwhelmingly approved by both Republicans and Democrats, the law mandates that the Federal Communications Commission to base policies for the preservation and advancement of universal service on principles including:

74 senators cosigned a letter to the Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russell Vought to support radio and televisions broadcasters and local newspapers during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our radio and television broadcasters and rural newspapers provide local and national news, emergency alerts, educational programs, and more to all corners of the United States.

As the world raced to contain COVID-19, it effectively launched a necessary but costly experiment: Move all possible economic activity online to flatten the pandemic’s curve and save lives. But digitally recreating the economy-as-usual has its limits and the “Great Lockdown” comes with devastating economic costs. The digital experience needs fixing. Even as companies slowly return to business as usual, we’ll continue to see record numbers of people working remotely for the foreseeable future.

To connect students on the wrong side of the digital divide, school districts in a number of cities, including Portland (OR) and San Francisco (CA) are working with Comcast to sponsor the cost of the company’s Internet Essentials program for low-income families in need of home broadband connections during the crisis. They plan to pay the monthly cost of Comcast’s Internet Essentials plan for eligible households. The school systems will distribute promotional codes to families who can then contact the company to sign up for broadband access at no cost.

Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Reps Peter Welch (D-VT) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump urging the Administration to support dedicated funding for small broadband providers to keep students and low-income families in their communities connected to the internet during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many small broadband providers have committed to sustaining critical broadband services and upgrades for students and low-income families who cannot afford payment during this public health crisis.