Internet service isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity like any other utility. This has never been truer than it is now, as hundreds of millions of families across the country are relying on it to telework, attend tele-health appointments, and keep their kids learning in virtual classrooms. Our economy would fall apart without it, yet right now millions of Americans are struggling to afford it. That’s why Congress enacted the Emergency Broadband Benefit last year – because it’s time to get serious about bridging the digital divide, and in that fight, affordability is half the battle. We were proud to spearhead the creation of the EBB program and we’re thrilled that the FCC is implementing it quickly. We encourage anyone who may be struggling to afford internet service to see if they qualify and then contact their internet service provider to apply. We are committed to ensuring Congress continues its work to expand internet access until every American has reliable, affordable service.

The National Association of Broadcasters took the gloves off in a recent meeting with Federal Communications Commission engineering staffers over TV white spaces (TVWS) -- the use of small slices of spectrum set aside for broadcasting for unlicensed uses like wireless broadband -- calling it a failing experiment. Microsoft has been pushing the FCC to allow unlicensed devices operating in the TV band to do so closer to existing TV channels, but NAB told the engineering staffers that Microsoft's proposal on how to determine if a channel is available for unlicensed use is disingenuous and in service of white spaces deployments whose success has been "grossly exaggerated." NAB execs said that Microsoft has failed to demonstrate that its proposal will not create potentially harmful interference, referencing a limited test with a professional-grade receiver, limited testing NAB calls Microsoft's reliance on "disingenuous."

The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation is graduating the first cohort of the Digital Equity Leadership Lab, a pilot leadership program that offers training on everything that a person seeking to be an expert on internet advocacy needs to know. The five-week program covered topics including laws governing the internet, core concepts about network engineering and the workings of community internet networks, like mesh networks. The group of 25 participants also met with guest speakers, such as former Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn, and advocates for building a more equitable internet. The group included Baltimoreans from ages 16 to 70, mixing folks that work for the city, church leaders and others from immigration and education advocacy spheres. The foundation plans to relaunch the program in the fall, and is working on a case study with Benton Faculty Research Fellow Dr. Colin Rhinesmith to put a program like the Digital Equity Leadership Lab into a national context.