Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

With broadband now as important as electricity was in the last century, affordable connectivity is more critical than ever. Through the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which provides free or discounted internet service of up to $50 a month ($75 on tribal lands) toward the cost of a consumer’s internet bill for people who qualify, Congress has made it clear that affordable connectivity is a top priority with bipartisan support.

We encourage the Federal Communications Commission to take a broad, meaningful look at broadband deployment as it relates to its use and to investigate data that demonstrate low-income neighborhoods lack fiber infrastructure. We reiterate that the FCC should reaffirm its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report conclusion that fixed and mobile broadband services are complementary, not substitutes for each other. The FCC’s Broadband Deployment Report and Form 477 data collection must also incorporate key