Pandemic Amplifies Calls for Universal Broadband

The coronavirus is putting a klieg light on an already hot topic in Washington, the digital divide, and is fueling new government subsidies for high-speed broadband in rural areas and new calls for more from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and industry by those pushing to close the divide. “Our longstanding digital divide has morphed into a monstrous new COVID-19 divide,” said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. FCC Chairman Ajit  Pai has been waiving regulations and calling on Internet service providers to keep America connected, a call they have been answering. But neither have been doing enough for critics using the crisis as an opportunity to amplify calls for more from both government and industry. According to an analysis by the Purdue University Center for Regional Development, 10% of all counties in the US have a sufficiently wide digital divide that they will have “a very hard time implementing the mitigation strategies recommended — distance learning, working from home — “placing their students and workers in distress during this outbreak.” The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society cited the study in arguing that Chairman Pai’s comment in a congratulatory blog — “It might be hard to find hand sanitizer and toilet paper, but I’m happy to report that internet access is proving to be one of the most valuable non-medical commodities right now” — misses the point that millions can’t find broadband either, even as the FCC has consistently concluded highspeed internet is being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner.