Commissioner Starks' Remarks at the 2020 INCOMPAS Show

The Federal Communications Commission’s top priority must be connecting all Americans to modern high-speed communications networks. Solving this problem was always a moral imperative, and COVID-19 has raised the stakes. When this pandemic first hit, I called for a connectivity stimulus to increase access to broadband service by expanding the Lifeline program, funding the purchase and distribution of mobile hotspots by schools and libraries, opening up new spectrum bands on a temporary basis, and encouraging broadband service providers to waive their data caps and increase or expand their affordable offerings. Over the last six months, some of those proposals have been adopted. But much remains to be done. We should start by addressing the Lifeline program, which was designed to help connect the most vulnerable Americans. At a time when so many need Lifeline’s benefits, fewer than 20 percent of eligible households participate in the program, and its current benefits are wholly inadequate for this moment.