Looking ahead, the biggest challenge facing the long-term health of the FCC’s universal service programs is the way they are funded. We are in a unique position to solve this challenge. Here’s how. Back when I was a Commissioner in 2016, I proposed that Congress should authorize a dividend from the sale of wireless spectrum that would go toward closing the digital divide. Whenever the FCC auctioned spectrum for flexible use, we would set aside 10% of the net auction proceeds for the deployment of broadband in unserved communities. I thought it was a good idea then. I think it’s a good idea now. Congress should set aside about $50 billion in revenue from [the C-Band auction] to fund the FCC’s Universal Service Programs for the next five years. The law authorizing this spending would call on Congress to come up with a solution to the eroding contribution base within five years. In the near term, this proposal would allow us to eliminate the USF contribution system—a system which is regressive, wasteful, and often arbitraged. In addition, consumers would get a tax cut in the form of lower phone bills. Five years of breathing room would also give elected officials the time they need to figure out what should come next.

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.

• Establish First-in-the-Nation Guarantee of Affordable Internet Mandate: Gov Cuomo will propose legislation requiring internet service providers to offer an affordable $15 per month high speed internet plan to low-income households. The State will also require providers to advertise this option to ensure programs reach underserved populations across the State.
• Close the "Homework Gap" by Establishing a Hardship Fund: To bridge the gap during the COVID-19 emergency and help the most in need children across New York State, the Gov's blue-ribbon Reimagine New York Commission, Schmidt Futures, and the Ford Foundation will launch a new hardship fund to pay for internet subscriptions for students who cannot afford $15 a month during the COVID-19 crisis. To ensure students also get the laptops and hot spots they need, the State will expedite Smart Schools Bond Act funding to school districts to meet outstanding device needs.
• Consumer Protections for Broadband Customers and Other Critical Reforms: To combat practices that limit consumer choice and increase the cost of internet services, the Public Service Commission will require adherence to a universal "broadband disclosure" that explains all charges, such as device, termination, activation, and equipment fees in plain and easy to understand language so consumers will no longer get hit with unexpected charges. 

In addition, the State will undertake other actions to spur further investment in access including promoting a "dig once" policy to facilitate the buildout of fiber across the state, launching a website to help New Yorkers find the affordable plan in their area and report on coverage gaps and consumer experiences, as well as other efforts to close the literacy and digital skills gap that persists in underserved communities.

86% of US households get an Internet service at home, compared to 84% in 2015 and 82% in 2010.  Broadband accounts for 97% of households with an Internet service at home, and 83% of all households get a broadband Internet service – an increase from 81% in 2015 and 74% in 2010. Among adults with an Internet service at home, the mean self-reported time spent online at home is 5.3 hours per day – up from 3.7 hours per day in 2019, 2.9 hours per day in 2015, and 2.4 hours per day in 2010. Other related findings include:

• 87% of households use at least one laptop or desktop computer – 94% of this group get an Internet service at home
• 36% of those that do not use a laptop or desktop computer at home get an Internet service at home
• 78% of all households get Internet service both at home and on a mobile phone, an increase from 64% in 2015
• 51% not online at home access the Internet on a smartphone (and an additional 1% access the Internet on another type of mobile phone), representing 7% overall
• 68% of adults with an Internet service at home visit a social networking site daily – compared to 63% in 2019, 57% in 2015, and 38% in 2010
• 59% of adults with an Internet service at home watch video online daily – compared to 50% in 2019, 35% in 2015, and 14% in 2010

Elon Musk is under siege by fellow billionaires at Amazon and Dish as he tries to get his fledgling space-based broadband service off the ground, with clashes involving airwave overload and the threat of satellite collisions. competitors are pressing the Federal Communication Commission to stymie Musk's SpaceX service. Dish, the satellite company founded by billionaire Charlie Ergen, has urged the FCC to allocate the airwaves covered by the FCC's new study for 5G service. SpaceX fears 5G services would interfere with Starlink, with Elon Musk calling FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners to warn against the "severe risk" rule changes could pose to his satellite broadband service.

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. People over the ages of 65 and 75 are prioritized for early waves of vaccination and are most at risk from COVID-19 — but they’re also often uncomfortable and unfamiliar with technology. Navigating those platforms quickly enough to secure an appointment slot may be challenging for anyone not comfortable with computers or the internet and impossible for someone who doesn’t have access to those tools. Only around half of people over the age of 75 use the internet at all, says Susan Nash, a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity studying digital literacy options for older adults. “The great irony of this problem is that the people we need to reach with the vaccine and get information to are the ones who are least likely to be online,” she says.

President Trump used social media to encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol to attempt to maintain his power. In the wake of this violent insurrection against the certification of our election, the President and some of his supporters are claiming that the First Amendment rights of the President have been violated because of Twitter and Facebook’s decisions to ban the President from use of their platforms. As many legal experts have noted, these social media companies and other digital platforms are private companies, not the government, and that distinction makes their content moderation decisions and actions free of any First Amendment concerns. While we as Americans have a constitutional freedom from having the government inhibit our speech (with some fairly clear limits on the extent of that freedom), this is not a license to use any platform to speak without restriction, nor is it a freedom from criticism or consequences for that speech. First Amendment protections do not, and should not, apply to both private companies and the government. Nor should the same protections limit legal obligations on private companies to protect the public. If we want to keep the uniquely American protections of the First Amendment, we must look to the stakeholders who benefit from this power to take ownership over this decentralized responsibility as well.

Among the Department of Commerce's accomplishments in 2020:

• Supported access to high-speed broadband by removing barriers to deployment and maximizing the impact of federal funding, including creating a National Broadband Availability Map which delivers accurate, essential data on broadband availability with 18 state partners.
• Improved first-responder communications by deploying the FirstNet National Public Safety Broadband Network, which serves more than 1.3 million connections and 12,000 public safety agencies across the Nation.
• Working with the Department of Defense, helped open critical mid-band federal spectrum for a Federal Communications Commission auction in summer 2020 and issued a report on the prospect of bringing even more mid-band spectrum to market to help ensure American leadership in 5G.
• Improved privacy protections for all Americans and U.S. businesses with the release of the NIST Privacy Framework, which provides a voluntary tool for organizations to better identify, assess, manage, and communicate about privacy risks.