Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) announced the National Broadband Plan for the Future Act, legislation that instructs the Federal Communications Commission to update the National Broadband Plan, as well as study how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way Americans live, learn, and work online.
Opensignal’s latest analysis demonstrates that 5G greatly improves the real-world speeds that users experience. And, even more significantly, 5G offers faster average download speeds than Wi-Fi in seven out of eight leading 5G countries. Our findings show the importance of not letting the current COVID-19 crisis — or active anti-5G disinformation campaigns — delay 5G rollouts because the increased capacity and faster speeds that 5G enables are critical to keeping people connected today and in the future with rising network usage.
Commerce Sec Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is now accepting applications from eligible grantees for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) supplemental funds (EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance) intended to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act into law. The CARES Act provides EDA with $1.5 billion of which $1.467 billion is available for grant making.
Recently, more than 30 companies came together to announce a coalition to promote policies that support implementing open 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) technology, a critical part of deploying 5G technology. This commitment by the private sector to advance the same objectives shows the widespread priority to secure our domestic and global communications supply chain, and it’s a great step forward to encourage our allies to follow suit.
History at the crossroads, one of those inflection points when we have the opportunity to learn from our experiences and use them to build a better future. Coronavirus brings us to another of those crossroads. Which road will we take?
During the pandemic, much face-to-face communication has moved online. People staying at home are using social media and search engines to find out up-to-date information and advice on how we can all help slow the spread of COVID-19.
America's tech industry has stepped up to the plate and is working hard to play their part in fighting COVID-19. This panel will demonstrate just some ways that tech is helping fight the virus, and how we can all use their tools to stay connected.
Panelists:
The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare many of the inequalities in America, including the differences in access to broadband Internet. Three policies that can help: (1) allow cities to provide their own broadband; (2) expand and reform Lifeline; and (3) provide tax incentives to firms that subsidize their employees’ broadband. The first of these policies stimulates the “supply” of broadband, while the second two stimulate “demand.” Together, these policies should help reduce the digital divide.
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