Editorial Board

If Congress doesn’t act now many Americans might lose broadband access

The United States has lately gotten serious about broadband expansion, with the federal government spending tens of billions of dollars to deploy services all over the country — especially in rural areas, where coverage is sparse. But how widely connectivity is available matters little if consumers can’t afford it.

The FCC’s New Racial Broadband Rule

The Federal Communication Commission’s new Democratic majority is up and running and firing in all directions. The FCC plans to vote on a proposed “digital discrimination” rule. In the name of equity, Democratic Commissioners will make internet service worse. The agency will hold broadband providers liable for actions or “omissions” that result in a disparate impact on an identity group.

Finally, some rules for the internet

Net neutrality has become the Washington equivalent of a Hollywood franchise: As if the sequel to the sequel weren’t enough, another installment of the debate over rules for the internet’s roads arrived this month. This time, however, there’s a plot twist. What, exactly, net neutrality rules look like matters less than that there are meaningful rules for broadband more generally.

Gigi Sohn’s Strange Bedfellows

Does a progressive activist who wants to weaken copyright and speech protections belong on the Federal Communications Commission? President Biden thinks so, and bizarrely so do the leaders of conservative Newsmax Media and One America News Network (OAN). Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said Newsmax is “being sidelined in favor of a small number of mega-corporations who dominate the channel line-ups.” OAN President Charles Herring hailed Sohn’s commitment to “diversity in media.” The two execs may be hoping Sohn will target Sinclair and Fox News.

A Media Censor for the FCC?

President Biden’s effort to supercharge the regulatory state is steadily advancing. The latest example is his nomination of progressive partisan Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission. She favors deploying the agency’s regulatory power to shackle broadband providers and silence conservative voices. Sohn founded Public Knowledge that has long sought more government control of the internet and media.

Big Business for Big Government

The biggest threat to competition and consumers in our time is the collusion of big business and big government. As a case in point, see how AT&T is urging the Federal Communications Commission to hobble rival T-Mobile. AT&T asked the FCC to limit how much mid-band spectrum providers can acquire in future government auctions. T-Mobile acquired loads of mid-band when it purchased Sprint in 2020.

Close the digital divide, but don’t trap people in the slow lane

Although Republicans recoiled when President Biden unveiled his sweeping infrastructure plan in March, a bipartisan group of senators has thrown its support behind one of the less conventional ideas in the package: making a massive investment in broadband networks. But as crucial as these networks are to the 21st century economy, it’s not just the amount Congress spends that matters.

America’s lack of universal broadband is an outrage

When it unveiled its National Broadband Plan in 2010, the Federal Communications Commission declared that every American should have access to affordable and robust broadband service by 2020, along with “the means and skills to subscribe.” It was the right goal; as the COVID-19 pandemic has made painfully obvious, broadband is key not just to economic growth and productivity, but also to equal access to education, jobs, healthcare and an array of opportunities.

The part of the broadband debate we’re missing

The National Urban League’s Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion wants to ensure that everyone can fully participate in the world the Web has created — from their education as children to their employment as adults to their health all along the way.

A smart use for $50 billion of covid relief funds: Broadband

When President Joe Biden asked what critics would have him cut from his covid relief bill, he got plenty of answers about reducing the $510 billion in aid to state and local governments — including from us. Now some moderate Senate Democrats are suggesting a middle way: Earmark $50 billion of those funds for broadband investment. The idea, spearheaded by Sens Angus King (I-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA), is a political crowd-pleaser more likely to attract cross-aisle support than most big spending.

Here’s how Comcast could be a better community partner in Baltimore

Since Comcast is doing so well, one might think they could afford to be a good corporate citizen and community partner when it comes to bridging the digital equity divide. But apparently Comcast officials don’t have to play nice when they are the dominant game in town. Instead, the company has been at constant odds with Baltimore City officials and advocates over access to the internet services Baltimore children need for online learning.

Here’s what Biden can do right now to get more Americans on the Internet

Today, there’s a glaring inequity in one crucial area that guarantees inequity in myriad others: Internet access.

Ajit Pai Bids Adieu

The leadership of regulatory agencies usually turns over with the change of federal administrations, so it’s no surprise that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he will step down after four years in the job. He leaves a notable legacy, especially after the mess he inherited from the Obama era. Pai’s largest contribution was rescuing the internet from the shackles of regulation that had been imposed by his predecessor, Tom Wheeler. He rescinded Mr.

What Biden needs to do to regulate the Internet both at home and worldwide

The president-elect is in a position to do for the Web, both worldwide and here at home, what his predecessor has not. There is ample room for regulating the online realm domestically, though doing so may first require cooperating with a divided Congress.

Confirmation Mischief at the FCC

Approving federal judges is a priority for Mitch McConnell during the lame-duck session of Congress, but Republicans shouldn’t dither on confirming Nathan Simington to the Federal Communications Commission. He will be needed to oppose internet regulation early in a Biden Presidency. Simington’s confirmation is in jeopardy because of—who else?—President Trump. Republicans would be committing self-sabotage by scotching Simington’s confirmation.

Trump’s flagrant assault on the First Amendment is disguised as a defense of it

President Donald Trump has sent a message to the Federal Communications Commission: Cross me for misusing my powers in this way, and you’ll be punished, too. The president wants Mike O’Rielly, his fellow FCC commissioners, and appointees across agencies to know what happens when they dare to put the rule of law first, just as the president wants Twitter, and Facebook, and all influential companies on the Internet or off to know how carefully they must tread with him in charge.

Mike O’Rielly’s Free Speech Fall

Michael O’Rielly has done yeoman work as a member of the Federal Communications Commission, but the White House abruptly pulled his renomination for another five-year term. The decision speaks better of Commissioner O’Rielly than of the President. Commissioner O’Rielly was scuttled for remarks about regulating speech.

In a pandemic-plagued country, high-speed internet connections are a civil rights issue.

An adequate connection is no longer a matter of convenience; it is a necessity for anyone wishing to participate in civil society. Service is often unavailable or too expensive in rural communities and low-income neighborhoods. This has forced people into parking lots outside libraries, schools and coffee shops to find a reliable signal — while others are simply staying logged off.

The virus has brought the digital future closer

The digital future has long been talked about but the pandemic has brought it a big step closer. For millions, technology has been a lifeline in a new, socially-distanced reality. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. For the companies, the crisis has not only cemented their market power but provided an opportunity to show that they can be responsible corporate citizens.

In a pandemic, the digital divide separates too many Americans from relief

During the Great Depression, people waited in bread lines for sustenance. In today's economic crisis, the internet is often the pathway for relief. Online is where people try to keep or find work. How they see their doctor or apply for jobless benefits. How they order food and supplies. Where they find solace through faith, or laughter through entertainment.

No one should profit off of prisoners trying to stay in touch with their families

The Federal Bureau of Prisons made phone calls and some video visits free for inmates in early April, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a suspension of visits.

A new chance to close the digital divide

The “digital divide” in the accessibility of telecommunications services remains far too wide — and that current needs give urgency to closing it. A lack of sufficient Internet access is very likely keeping 12 million students from doing distance learning while their schools are closed.And the more that low-income communities are dependent on temporary grace from telecom providers, the more they have to lose when this is all over. New ideas are clearly required.

50 Million Kids Can’t Attend School. What Happens to Them?

Internet access is, of course, fundamental to sound educational policy. Even before the pandemic, an estimated 12 million schoolchildren had trouble completing schoolwork because they lacked internet access at home. Nevertheless, there is significantly more to online education than streaming a lesson designed for the classroom. Effective virtual education requires new styles of teaching as well as curriculum materials designed specifically for online use.