On April 2, House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to reassure broadcasters that the FCC will not revoke licenses for airing legally protected speech.
In the Symmes Valley Local School District in Lawrence County, in southern Ohio, Superintendent Darrell Humphreys estimates that less than 15% of his 800 students have “good internet,” capable of streaming video. The rural district has Wi-Fi in its two-building campus, when it’s open. But within a 30-minute drive there is no McDonald’s or other fast-food place that has an internet hot spot. In fact, “a large part of the district doesn’t even have cellphone service,” Humphreys said. Instead, assignment packets, about 20 pages each, have been mailed to each student’s home.
In many ways, we’re still building the plane while flying it. Recognizing that it’s hard to say anything definitive only a few weeks into a fluid situation, I’d like to walk you through the FCC’s guiding principles as we’ve approached this challenge.
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