Federal Communications Commission

It’s a familiar scene in communities across the nation: teenagers lingering outside fast-food restaurants and inside malls with laptops on their knees, surfing for free public Wi-Fi to be able to do their homework. Some 17 million students across the nation don’t have internet service at home, hampering their ability to study and complete assignments and prepare themselves for college and the workforce.

A quarter of U.S. households that relied on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to help pay for internet will drop their connections. That finding, along with others, was included in a recent Maravedis report, a market intelligence firm that has a focus on wireless infrastructure, multifamily connectivity, and smart technologies.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has asked her fellow commissioner to consider either a ban or constraint on bulk billing. We predicted the Chair’s proposal would hit significant resistance. The record reveals that the resistance is strong, coming not just from the expected ISPs but also from groups traditionally at odds with ISPs, groups generally aligned with low-income consumers, and those concerned about low-income adoption. Considering the opposition:

Anybody not involved in the telephone business will probably be surprised to find that the old TDM telephone networks are still very much alive and in place. The old technologies were supposed to be phased out and replaced by digital technologies.

Here’s what to expect for the Federal Communications Commission's jam-packed July Open Meeting agenda.

Every person in America should be able to access affordable, high-speed internet no matter where they live or how much they earn. I am proud to highlight that we are finalizing a rule to allow schools and libraries—primarily in low-income and rural areas—to use funding from the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program for Wi-Fi hotspots that will increase access to remote learning and virtual library services. Additionally, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will award over $9 million to the state of Nevada to implement their Digital Equity Plan.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to end exorbitant phone and video call rates that have burdened incarcerated people and their families for decades.

Millions of students, school staff, and library patrons around the country are on the wrong side of the digital and educational divide and, as a result, lack the same access to educational resources as their peers.

What can be done for the 23 million households that relied on the Affordable Connectivity Program? The Federal Communications Commission could start a proceeding to increase the amount of money in the USF so that it can fund an ACP-like subsidy. It has the power under the Communications Act, it has a consistent funding source, and it has a reason with the ACP’s expiration—an event former FCC Chief of Staff Blair Levin describes as the “biggest step any country has ever taken to widen, rather than close, its digital divide.” Given all this, why doesn’t the FCC act?

Lifeline and the now defunct Affordable Connectivity Program have helped millions of families afford Internet services that support online learning, remote work, and access to telehealth, among many other uses linked to social and economic wellbeing. However, individuals and families entitled to receive these benefits often have to navigate a complex web of procedures to demonstrate eligibility, enroll in the program and receive services.