Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel is proposing final rules to prevent discrimination in access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, and national origin. The rules will be voted on by the full Commission at its November 15 Open Commission Meeting. If adopted, they would establish a balanced framework to facilitate equal access to broadband internet service by preventing digital discrimination. Under these rules, the FCC could protect consumers by:

• Directly addressing companies’ policies and practices if they differentially impact consumers’ access to broadband internet access service or are intended to do so;
• Apply these protections to ensure communities see equitable broadband deployment, network upgrades, and maintenance;
• Investigate possible instances of discrimination of broadband access, work to solve and – when necessary – penalize companies for failing to meet the obligations defined in the rules;
• Review consumer complaints of digital discrimination through an improved consumer complaint portal;
• Help protect both current and prospective subscribers to a broadband internet service.

The Parker Lecture matters because Everett Parker matters. He stood for justice and stood up to the FCC when it approved the license of a Jackson, Mississippi television station that was suppressing Black voices. He petitioned the agency to change course and he had something I think is common to all changemakers—tenacity. Because he took that case all the way to the Supreme Court. And he prevailed in a milestone decision that opened the door for an African American to lead WLBT and for more minority voices to be broadcast over the airwaves. In one of his last interviews, at age 99, he said, “I want them to remember that I was a guy who fought like the devil for the rights of minorities.” He can rest assured that we remember because none of us will ever forget Everett Parker. Looking at this list of past speakers (at this event), I also noticed that the first FCC Chair to deliver this address was Reed Hundt back in 1994. That was a long time ago. It was the very beginning of the internet era. Back then, maybe you called the internet the “information superhighway.” I know I did. I decided to take a look at the remarks of my predecessor. When I did, something quickly caught my eye. He thanked UCC Media Justice, which was then known as the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ. He said: “We can’t afford to deny anyone the opportunity to enjoy the communications revolution. In this regard, your organization has been particularly important.” He went on to say that you have “provided the Commission with valuable input . . . on critical issues ranging from cable television to equal employment opportunities and,” wait for it, “electronic redlining.”

Mediacom is making progress in bridging the digital divide across rural Iowa, as it just wrapped up two fiber expansion projects in the towns of Rutland and Williams (IA). Residents can now sign up for broadband plans with up to 2-gigabit download speeds as well as low-cost phone plans. Including these two projects, Mediacom has built fiber in 12 communities in collaboration with the Empower Iowa Rural Broadband Grant Program. The public-private partnership has allowed the operator to bring fiber to over 1,600 rural Iowa locations. According to Mediacom, it and the state of Iowa have invested $4.4 million in expanding broadband to underserved Iowa communities. The Rutland and Williams projects were part of round seven of the Empower Iowa grant program.