Remarks of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to the American Library Association Annual Conference

I know the evolution of libraries as the place where the public goes for books to the place where the public goes for everything is creating new challenges as you address new needs. But we know millions of people in this country are on the wrong side of the digital divide. Libraries help fill that gap. You have computer labs. You teach digital skills. And you help enroll people in our programs to support internet for all, like the Affordable Connectivity Program. I am pleased to announce that I am putting forward a new proposal at the Federal Communications Commission to help you better serve your communities in the digital age. What I have learned from all of this policymaking and from traveling the country is that E-Rate has done a wonderful job of connecting libraries and schools, but too often, that connectivity ends at the edge of the building. The Emergency Connectivity Fund was a great down payment on narrowing that gap—which I’ve long called the Homework Gap—but it is time for a permanent solution. It is time for an E-Rate program that supports students and library patrons wherever they are. Call it Learning Without Limits. Here’s what Learning Without Limits means:

• First, I will ask my colleagues at the FCC to join me in an updated ruling to allow E-Rate support to be used for Wi-Fi connections on school buses. This could make a big difference in rural areas where students spend long hours on school buses just to get to class and home again. We can turn ride time into connected time for homework. We can take E-Rate policies from two decades ago that supported mobile phones on these buses and modernize them so we have Wi-Fi on wheels—and students can Learn Without Limits.
• Then, I will share a new proposal to modernize E-Rate. Every library and every school library in this country should be able to loan out Wi-Fi hotspots to keep their patrons and kids connected. And we can use the FCC E- Rate program to do it. So, I am asking my FCC colleagues to join me in a rule-making to modernize the E-Rate program to support Wi-Fi hotspots for loan in libraries nationwide.
• And finally, as we modernize E-Rate, we also know that network security is a growing concern for schools and libraries. That is why at the end of [2022], we sought public input on this challenge, and we plan to announce next steps soon.