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 House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) said that a lot of broadband internet access service providers, "for whatever reason," claim they have service where they don't, something he said everyone knows "has been going on for years." He said that since Democrats and Republicans agree that broadband maps aren't good, the Federal Communications Commission would just be throwing $20 million out the window by starting to give out most of the Rural Development Opportunities Fund (RDOF) subsidy money.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks spoke about internet inequality during a USTelecom webinar "The Role of Connectivity in Digital Equity and Inclusion." Commissioner Starks said he uses the term internet inequality rather than the digital divide because beyond the issue of access was the issue of affordability. He said there are millions of Americans who simply can't afford the internet. While the rural digital divide is very important, Commissioner Starks said the lack of connectivity in certain urban areas was a problem he was increasingly fixated on.  

Mozilla and others that had challenged the Federal Communications Commission's deregulation of internet access in the 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO) have decided not to take that challenge to the Supreme Court. This moves the issue to the states that implemented their own net neutrality legislation in response to the FCC's RIFO. The deadline was July 6, and Mozilla signaled there would be no challenge in the high court. "After careful consideration, Mozilla—as well as its partners in this litigation—are not seeking Supreme Court review of the DC Circuit decision," Mozilla.

Senate Democrats are attempting to add their distance learning E-Rate funding bill to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) have proposed their Emergency Educational Connections Act as an amendment on the bill. The bill would ensure that all K-12 students have access to "adequate" home broadband connectivity and devices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would clarify that E-rate could be used for equipment and service at "locations other than the school."