Chairman Pai's Response to Senators Regarding Maintaining Connectivity During COVID-19 Pandemic

On April 24, Sens Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, saying, "We must coordinate the voluntary efforts of broadband service providers with the targeted investments of federal, state, and local governments to ensure that efforts are focused on those who need our help the most." They urged Chairman Pai to work with the companies that stepped up to take the Keep Americans Connected Pledge to provide a comprehensive report on the distribution of hotspots by April 27th so we can understand where hotspots have been deployed, where they will be deployed, and where they could be deployed with a little help from the federal government to improve access for more Americans who lack connectivity. On June 15, Chairman Pai replied saying, "a new, industry-wide hotspot coverage map would likely take months in order to implement. Moreover, the Commission does not have funding to implement such new maps, particularly given that we still don't have funding to implement the Broadband DATA Act."