Letter

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a group of senators urged the FCC to ensure that state, local, and tribal governments are included in efforts to update nationwide broadband maps. Following decades-long use of inaccurate data maps that denied broadband funding to eligible communities, the FCC was charged by Congress with creating new maps in 2020 to accurately depict the current state of broadband access in our nation.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, requesting that the Committee hold a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to discuss the agency’s plans and timelines for developing new broadband maps.

In a letter to Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Sen.

On March 8, 2021, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS), Communication Subcommittee Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressing surprise that Acting Chair Rosenworcel testified that the FCC could improve broadband maps within three-to-six months, but that the FCC suggested recently that new maps would not be ready until 2022.

Mozilla together with other internet companies ADT, Dropbox, Eventbrite, Reddit, Vimeo, Wikimedia, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking the agency to reinstate net neutrality as a matter of urgency. With the recent appointment of Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to lead the agency, there will be a new opportunity to establish net neutrality rules at the federal level in the near future, ensuring that families and businesses across the country can enjoy these fundamental rights. “By using its authority to restore net neutrality at the federal level, the FCC can

On March 2, 2021, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) asked Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel for a detailed status of funds report for all Universal Service Fund (USF) accounts, including but not limited to the Connect America Fund (CAF), Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers, E-Rate - Schools & Libraries Program, and the Rural Health Care Program.

In February 2021, Next Century Cities collected feedback from local officials on ways to improve broadband over the next four years. This letter includes several of their submissions. Their words echo sentiments of local leaders nationwide, calling for higher broadband Internet speeds, lower prices, and improved service quality. The Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership would not only have an immediate impact on their communities and others but would pave the way for inclusive and equitable broadband policies for years to come.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the minority leadership from the House and Senate Commerce Committees asked about the FCC's status on completing its mapping process to ensure accurate broadband data collection. [Congress just allocated the funds the FCC needs to do the mapping in December 2020.] "[W]e are concerned that delays in completing these maps could lead to further delays in distributing critical broadband funds," the Members of Congress write. "You have repeatedly stated that the FCC could quickly produce new broadband maps.

On February 12, Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel raising concerns about the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) long-term sustainability as a mechanism to close the nation’s digital divide.

In a letter to the Biden Administration’s top officials for federal broadband policy -- including Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Acting Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Jessica Rosenworcel, and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese -- the senators called on federal agencies to update broadband program speed requirements to reflect existing and anticipated uses, from two-way video conferencing to smart grids to artificial intelligence.