Chairman Pai's Response to Members of Congress On GAO Report on Making Off-School-Premises Access Eligible for Additional Federal Support

In July 2019, the US Government Accountability Office issued a report recommending that the Federal Communications Commission assess and report on the potential benefits, costs, and challenges of making wireless access off school grounds eligible for E-rate. On December 3, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reported to the US Senate that he tasked the Commission’s Office of Economics and Analytics to assess the potential benefits and costs of, and other policy issues involved in, making off-premises wireless broadband access eligible for E-Rate program support. To this end, FCC staff is currently undertaking the analysis of a 2011-2012 E-Rate pilot program, which involved a similar approach. "I will ensure that FCC staff publish a report that evaluates the results of this pilot program... we will evaluate such data for lessons learned (accounting for changes in technology, costs, and student learning over the past eight years) before taking any further steps."