Community Anchor Institutions

Across the country, educators are finding innovative ways to integrate technology into their curricula. Students from marginalized communities often don’t have the chance to engage with technology in meaningful ways, and instead are limited to passive uses of technology that lack rigor and present little opportunity for students to further develop their digital skills. Sometimes this divide stems from a lack of access to devices, but even students who have access often lack the adequate knowledge to utilize devices, and their teachers are typically not adequately trained to embed technology

The Universal Service Fund is a $8 billion decades-old mechanism created by Congress in 1996 to support vital communications investments where the marketplace falls short: connecting schools and libraries to high-speed internet; helping rural hospitals adopt telemedicine; ensuring low-income households have basic communications services; and investing in broadband in communities that need it most. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the current administration of the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional. Why is the Universal Service Fund so important?

Library Wi-Fi hotspot lending programs (via the Federal Communications Commission’s E-rate program) are a complement to broadband providers and permanent connections at home—not a replacement for those connections, said Larra Clark, Deputy Director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Policy and Advocacy Office and Deputy Director of the Public Library Association.

How much power may Congress hand off to the Washington bureaucracy? That’s a live question, so grab the popcorn to read a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 9-7 en banc ruling, it invalidated a “universal service” surcharge added to cellphone bills.

On July 24, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration published the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Competitive Grant Program. The Competitive Grant Program is the third (and final) set of funds available from the

An appeals court ruled the current structure of the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional. This decision puts at risk the high-speed connectivity of millions of rural and low-income Americans and the future trajectory of U.S. economic growth and global competitiveness. Now it’s Congress’s duty to promptly and decisively make clear the nation’s unwavering commitment to affordable, universal connectivity. The court’s fundamentally flawed decision hands Congress an enormously important opportunity to seize the initiative and ensure our nation’s abiding commitment to universal service.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on the proposed eligible services list (ESL) for the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism (more commonly known as the E-Rate program) for funding year (FY) 2025.

Republican or Democrat, one rare issue that can unite every American is the need to provide affordable internet connections to everyone. In today’s digital world, access to broadband internet means access to jobs, education, health care, and social opportunities.

In a ruling that quickly caused shock waves in the U.S. telecommunications industry, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, 9-7, that the Universal Service Fund (USF) is unconstitutional as currently administered. The Court explained its ruling by saying that the USF is a “misbegotten tax” that violates Article I, § 1 of the Constitution, which states that all legislative powers are given to Congress, which is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott (D-MD), and Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke about plans to expand internet connectivity in Baltimore. The Enoch Pratt Free Library currently has about 2,000 hotspots in circulation. According to Meghan McCorkell, Enoch Pratt Free Library’s chief of marketing, communications and strategy, about 969 people are waiting for a hotspot.