The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation supports quick disbursement of this critical relief—the Federal Communications Commission should focus first and foremost on quickly getting money out the door. However, it should also consider how the emergency broadband benefit program can serve as a bridge to a better, more rational subsidy program than the current Lifeline system. The Commission ideally could provide a voucher that gives flexibility and choice to eligible participants.

Over the last three years, Le Sueur County (MN) has assembled a task force of citizens, local officials, and business leaders which have succeeded in dramatically improving broadband for thousands of residents who previously had poor or no connectivity.

With great drama, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 became law on December 27, 2021. The $2.3 trillion COVID relief and government spending bill extended unemployment benefits and ensured the government can keep running. The $900 billion COVID relief provision includes over $7 billion to help improve connectivity in the U.S.

CARES Act broadband funding helped enable the town of Bristol, New Hampshire, to deploy 24 miles of fiber to pass 400 Bristol residences and connect to Plymouth State University. The CARES Act funding was a $1.52 million grant. In a separate project, additional fiber backbone and fiber distribution will be deployed to connect all Bristol municipal, educational and commercial buildings with funding through a Northern Border Regional Commission grant and town appropriation.

Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced his proposal to enact a first-in-the-nation requirement for affordable internet for all low-income families as part of the 2021 State of the State agenda.

Buggy websites and complex online tools are being used to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments across the United States. The systems are hard to navigate for many people, but they’re particularly inaccessible for older adults.

House  Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau issued a request for comment on how to administer Round 2 of the agency’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which received an additional $249.95 million in support as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

In order to move quickly but also deliver a successful and efficient Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, the Commission should make its decisions with the following principles in mind:

State governments around the country responded quickly to the strain on broadband networks during the COVID pandemic. They ramped up their creative problem-solving and increased their coordination with other states and the federal government.