The debate on whether broadband is a luxury or an essential connection to society is over. More than twice as many people are now using residential broadband during business hours as before the COVID-19 crisis. Over 55 million students have been impacted by school closures. The use of telehealth has skyrocketed. This, I believe, is our broadband moment: a hinge of history that will determine whether today’s residential broadband is fit for the changed world in which we inhabit or whether its limits work to disadvantage those that are not equipped to use it. For the good of all, each of us has been asked to stay at home as much as possible. Broadband makes that bearable, connecting us to entertainment, to family, to friends. Broadband also makes it possible for us, if we are lucky, to continue to work and to learn. Most importantly, it connects us to health services and vital information so we can stay safe in what feels like a very dangerous time. But what about the millions of Americans for whom broadband does not reach? And what about those for whom broadband may not be affordable like newly-unemployed workers, low-income students, and at-risk seniors? And, of course, as we emerge into a changed world, what about our ability to re-start the economy and reduce unemployment without setting off yet another epidemic?

[Jonathan Sallet is a Benton Senior Fellow]

The coronavirus pandemic happened and, in a breath, home internet went from desired option to life-sustaining necessity. If the shutdown is responsible for limiting the spread of the infectious respiratory disease that has killed more than 1,100 Pennsylvanians in a month, then the internet is why it isn’t more. And that is why the World Wide Web has to be wide enough to work for the whole world.  Broadband access needs to be viewed as a utility little different from water or electricity or gas. It needs to be as accessible as the sidewalks that connect us to our schools and jobs and banks. Maybe it took a pandemic to bring the reality of that home. Let’s hope that isn’t a lesson that gets forgotten when the lockdowns are lifted.

The court in Mozilla required the Federal Communications Commission to address how its Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which repealed the agency’s net neutrality rules and removed FCC jurisdiction over broadband, impacted public safety, pole attachments, and the Lifeline program. Instead of opening a new rulemaking proceeding, the FCC issued a Public Notice that fails to explain how the agency ultimately intends to proceed on this matter. Indeed, the agency’s questions in the Public Notice don’t even begin to address the range of issues presented to the Commission on remand by the DC Circuit Court. The FCC’s approach to the remands is severely lacking from an administrative law perspective. Nevertheless, it is clear that the best way for the FCC to fulfill its statutory mandates to promote the public interest is to classify broadband as a telecommunications service, which gives the agency clear authority to carry out its duties. In any event, the Administrative Procedures Act requires the FCC to actually confront the trade-offs of its policy choices instead of simply ignoring them. We explain how the FCC should reassert its authority over broadband providers so that it can properly fulfill its responsibilities. In particular, as millions of Americans are staying home due to the pandemic, it has become clear that reliable, affordable broadband access is important to allow people to work and attend classes from home — and is even a matter of public safety. Title II of the Communications Act gives the FCC a full range of tools to address our nation’s broadband needs.

INCOMPAS — the internet and competitive networks association — led the court challenge opposing the Federal Communications Commission decision to end network neutrality provisions that help first responders, main street businesses and the streaming revolution. The INCOMPAS comments argue net neutrality impacts:

• Broadband Competition: By reclassifying broadband internet access service, competitive broadband providers that only offer broadband service will not have the Section 224 benefits of access to poles and conduit if they are not offering a telecom or cable service as required by that Section.  This could put them at a disadvantage in deploying new networks when there already is limited broadband competition for residential service.  
• Public Safety: The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that access to over-the-top (OTT) internet information and services is critical to informing and engaging Americans.  From police, health and firefighters who rely on apps, to consumers who use social media in times of crisis, INCOMPAS warns that without net neutrality rules, big telecom providers are under no obligation to prevent blocking or slowing down OTT services, even during times of critical safety and health emergencies when consumers are relying on many types of services to stay connected.
• Lifeline: As our nation recovers, Americans need jobs, and the Lifeline program which connects low-income consumers to broadband is a jobs program. It helps millions of low-income and out-of-work Americans access phone, email and job sites. You simply cannot get a job without the internet’s resources. INCOMPAS warns that ending net neutrality puts the Lifeline program on uncertain grounds, and it laments that the FCC is not willing to use its Section 706 authority to ensure that all Americans are connected to broadband.

April 20 was originally the deadline by which ICANN, which oversees the internet's address system, would issue its decision on whether to stop or allow the transfer of the dot-org (.org) domain registry to a private equity firm. The proposed deal — which would turn over a part of the internet typically used by nonprofits to a for-profit enterprise, Ethos Capital — has for months raised alarm among charities worried they might see the cost of their sites skyrocket. The decision has been postponed until May, but the debate has taken on added significance during a global crisis that is relying heavily on charities and community organizers for relief.

Rick Cohen, chief operating officer of the National Council of Nonprofits, said,“with so many nonprofits now feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations and working tirelessly just to be able to keep their doors open to serve their communities, they can ill afford to have even a dollar diverted unnecessarily from their work to pay down the hundreds of millions of dollars of debt that this transaction will incur.”

Smartphone users in all of the top 50 US markets spent increasing amounts of time connected to Wi-Fi during the end of March, according to new Opensignal data, aligning with behavioral shifts at a time when states across the country ramped their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Opensignal’s analysis noted that users typically spend more time on Wi-Fi during the weekend and on public holidays, meaning it’s a good indicator of more time at home. By the third week of March, starting March 16, Opensignal observed a significant week-on-week increase in the percentage of time smartphone users were connected to Wi-Fi across all the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based on population. Increases above the median average that week ranged between 5% and 20%. In the fourth week of March, at which point 21 statewide stay at home orders had been issued across the country, percentage of smartphone time spent on Wi-Fi again jumped significantly in 36 of the top 50 MSAs and remained elevated in the others. Increases ranged from 10% to more than 30% above the median average.

As many as 2 billion mobile phone owners around the world will be unable to use the smartphone-based system proposed by Apple and Google to track whether they have come into contact with people infected with the coronavirus, industry researchers estimate. The figure includes many poorer and older people — who are also among the most vulnerable to Covid-19 — demonstrating a “digital divide” within a system that the two tech firms have designed to reach the largest possible number of people while also protecting individuals’ privacy.

Apple’s iPhones and devices running on Google’s Android operating system now account for the vast majority of the 3.5 billion smartphones estimated to be in active use globally today. That provides a huge potential network to track infection, with surveys suggesting widespread public support for the idea. However, the scheme relies on specific wireless chips and software that are missing from hundreds of millions of smartphones that are still in active use, particularly those that were released more than five years ago.