AT&T

As policymakers address the immediate needs of students and teachers, they should also use this as an opportunity to take a fresh look at the E-rate program, both from how it has been operationalized to date as well as its goals for the future. AT&T believes the following principles should guide any expansion of the program:  

The $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which promises up to $50/month towards broadband service, is a real step in the right direction.  But those dollars will be quickly exhausted.

Four specific steps government, with industry’s cooperation, can take to make availability and affordability a reality for every American:

The preliminary results of the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction are now public and while it is a long road from auction results to authorization of funding to actual deployment, the results have significant implications for US broadband policy.

AT&T is offering discounted unlimited wireless data plans and content filtering services to more than 135,000 public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities across the country for a limited time. Offer details include:

AT&T reported third-quarter results that showed solid subscriber growth in the company’s market focus areas of wireless and fiber broadband. A record high 357,000 AT&T Fiber net adds and 158,000 total broadband net adds.

Representatives from AT&T met with Federal Communications Commission staff to answer a Common Cause, Public Knowledge and Next Century Cities letter sent to the FCC claiming AT&T’s decision to grandfather copper-based DSL services – services the groups maintain should not even be considered broadband – somehow underscores the need for full-fledged public utility regulation of broadband.