Benton Welcomes CDC/FEMA Incorporation of Home Student Broadband Access as Essential for Re-Opening Communities

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a strategy as part of White House efforts to reopen parts of the country. The strategy recognizes that “High speed internet access for every family with students enrolled in K-12 public schools” is an essential element for continued social distancing and re-opening communities.  The following statement may be attributed to Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Executive Director Adrianne B. Furniss.

As we chart a course to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and move forward, we are glad to see that one of the key elements of the FEMA/CDC plan is to fund high-speed internet access for every family with students enrolled in K-12 public schools in order to enable us to re-open communities. As we have seen since the beginning of this pandemic, high-speed broadband access is an essential tool to help us achieve effective social distancing to fight the spread of the virus. With robust broadband connections, Americans can learn remotely, work remotely, and monitor health remotely. We need a national strategy to ensure High-Performance Broadband reaches everywhere and everyone to improve our ability to social distance in future waves, and enable businesses and workers to get back to work more quickly. Our pathway out of this pandemic demands no less.