Affordability/Cost/Price

Over 10 million newly-unemployed Americans are being urged if not ordered to shelter in place for their own health and that of their communities. A broadband connection makes it possible for their children to continue to learn, for workers to look for new jobs, and for families to connect with doctors and loved ones. Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has a tool that can keep these people connected, the Lifeline program.

Today’s announcement is a sad indication of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s economy and on the livelihood of so many people that find themselves newly out of work. As the coronavirus places new strains on our economy and households across the country, we need to make sure that no one is left behind when it comes to communications. Now is the time to see how we can modernize our Lifeline program and extend its reach to so many in need. This includes the millions of recently unemployed, seniors, and others at risk at this difficult time.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused shortages of life-saving equipment like masks and ventilators — and now, we could be running low on Wi-Fi hotspots, devices that use cellular signals to create local networks. There are probably fewer than half a million hotspots available from the major carriers in the US, and the Asia-based supply chains that could replenish that stock continue to face coronavirus-linked disruptions, said Evan Marwell, CEO of Education Superhighway, a nonprofit that works with schools to increase broadband access. That pales in comparison to the millions of students wit

Today, we face a health crisis that makes plain – again – the importance of broadband to all people in America. As Oliva Wein of the National Consumer Law Center explains, “We’re hearing stories of low-income people without broadband at home traveling to healthcare facilities, risking their health and the health of other people, including healthcare workers, with whom they come in contact.

If rural America returns to broadband as usual, it will mean public institutions like libraries sometimes serving as the only broadband link for communities. While rural communities find ways to keep residents connected, the only thing certain right now is that there is a great deal of uncertainty. The new coronavirus has pulled hard at a thread of the nation’s patchwork sweater, leaving some Americans exposed to an onrush of climactic change. But for rural Americans who want reliable broadband, there is the potential for opportunity in crisis.

If ever there was a wake-up call to an immediate infrastructure threat, Corona is it. So let’s make the case for a public digital infrastructure (PDI). Is it even reasonable to ask the federal government to fund and govern a world-class broadband network utility – for everyone?  The argument here is yes.  The government should provide directed, comprehensive funding to broadband deployment across all parts of the country versus off-loading much of the cost to the states (who then enable ISPs to set prices). The cost?  Around $100B to provide 100MB service everywhere.

On March 27 President Donald Trump signed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to offset the economic impact of the pandemic and the public health response to it.

Living indoors to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, millions of Americans are turning to the Internet to meet their most pressing needs. This massive shift online poses troubling barriers to the least digitally connected Americans. The disconnectedness may force individuals to make devastating decisions and undermine the fight against the coronavirus.

The past month has taught us that the internet is the one indispensable tool Americans have amidst this crisis. but at least 20 million American households are currently without home access to broadband internet, primarily because they can’t afford it. These are the families on the wrong side of the digital divide, the most vulnerable people in our society. Disproportionately they are older, poorer, and sicker than the “average” American. Congress should devise a long-term solution to our continuing digital divide, once and for all.

As the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads, the nation’s K-12 schools and colleges have been forced to weigh health recommendations against the needs of students, many of whom are caught in the digital divide separating those who have Internet access and those who do not. About 15% of US households with school-age children lack high-speed Internet access, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2015 Census Bureau data.