FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on staying connected during a pandemic

A Q&A with Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

Asked, "What are the immediate short-term steps that the FCC and the broadband companies can take, and what are the medium and long-term steps that could help us be better prepared in the future?"

Commissioner Rosenworcel said, "I’m going to try to describe what the FCC has done to date, and I’m also going to talk a little bit about what else I want the agency to do. Last week, it announced a pledge. It got several dozen of the nation’s broadband providers to commit to doing a few things. First, they would not shut anyone off during this time. If you’re a small business or a home and you can’t pay your bills, we’re not going to shut you off. Second, they are going to waive late fees during this period. And third, to the extent that they have private Wi-Fi routers that are out there, they’re going to make sure that they’re out there publicly. Everyone who has signed onto that pledge deserves credit. I think we need to go further, and some carriers have made plans to make sure some low-income households can get online for free for 60 days. Some have made clear that they will not have data caps. And these things are good, but the bottom line is: I don’t want us to just rely on their generosity. We need a nationwide plan for addressing the digital divide. I like their kindness. I want to clap for it. I want to support it. But I think, as a nation, we need a policy that addresses how we’re going to connect all of us. What are the plans we want in place to make sure it happens?"