The Federal Communications Commission has granted a request for temporary access to spectrum to improve access to wireless broadband services in Harlan County, Kentucky during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Special Temporary Authority granted today gives Harlan 2-Way, Inc. access to spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band for 60 days.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS ASPR) is providing an additional $250 million to aid US health care systems treating patients and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Efforts to connect the unconnected have fallen way short. Many billions of dollars have been thrown at this, through multiple initiatives, programs and subsidies.

Vermont’s Department of Public Service recently released an Emergency Broadband Action Plan that is among the most aggressive of all state responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The state currently has 944 cases of COVID-19, with 54 attributable deaths.

On May 31, Sen Angus King (I-ME) has joined a group of colleagues in calling for the Federal Communications Commission to make it easier for tribal communities to get access to broadband internet. The lawmakers said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai should extend the period for tribal governments to complete applications for wireless broadband and increased mobile coverage.

In a joint letter, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Brandon Presley have written to NARUC Commissioners around the US to raise awareness of the federal Lifeline program, which helps eligible low-income consumers access affordable broadband and phone services. Many Americans may be newly unemployed or face other circumstances that make them eligible for Lifeline for the first time. Yet, they may also be unaware either of their eligibility or how to apply for the program.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said the coronavirus pandemic has “accelerated” the need to expand broadband into rural parts of the country as more of the country works remotely. “I mean, first of all, tech companies realized that remote work is more possible. Facebook has said that they're going to go all remote, or at least half of their staff of their employees are going to be remote. Twitter has said the same thing.

Emerging from this crisis, we call on the federal government to act on three priorities that will get America back on its feet. With investments in broadband access, support for the creation of domestic supply chains and requirements for Congress to meet its constitutional budgetary obligations, we believe that the United States can once again find transformation in a time of crisis. First, we believe that it is time for the United States to close the digital divide and bring high-speed internet to every family, regardless of their ZIP code.

“Social determinants of health” is a hot topic among government and health system executives. The phrase usually refers to basic food, housing and transportation disparities that can lead adjoining ZIP codes to have drastically different life expectancies. But could lack of broadband Internet access also be considered a social determinant of health?

Democratic congressional staffers are signaling fresh optimism that some money for broadband will make it into another coronavirus relief package long mulled on Capitol Hill. Republicans are “proceeding politically a little more cautiously right now” in deference to GOP leadership, but “we know privately that there are Republicans that would be very supportive of spending more money on E-Rate or Lifeline or Rural Healthcare,” said Joey Wender, senior policy adviser to Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).