I welcome Congress’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a much-needed economic stimulus program that will help workers, consumers, health care providers, and businesses across America. It is a time for action, and the Federal Communications Commission must do more to advance its own “connectivity stimulus.” The coming weeks will lay bare the already cruel reality of the digital divide: tens of millions of Americans cannot access or cannot afford the broadband connections they need to telework, access medical information, and help young people learn when school is closed. The FCC must closely examine its statutory authority and funding resources and take bold action to respond to the current crisis. As I’ve called for previously, the Lifeline and E-rate programs must be expanded to meet the needs of struggling Americans that need connectivity. In times of emergency, Americans always pull together. We must act now.

America came face to face with the festering problem of digital inequality when most of the country responded to the coronavirus pandemic by shutting elementary and high schools that serve more than 50 million children. The time has long passed for the country to open the door to the information age for communities that are locked out. The lack of internet access in poor and rural communities comes up again and again as educators talk about the pandemic. Finally closing the digital divide — and bringing all Americans into the information age — will require a momentous effort on the scale of the federal project that brought electricity to darkened regions of the country during the New Deal. And it will be similarly worth the effort.c

Many advocates are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to significantly expand its Lifeline program. More than 250 organizations called on the FCC to provide low-income households with unlimited talk and text plans. The groups have also asked the agency to create an emergency broadband benefit that would provide eligible households with $50 per month to cover the cost of high-speed internet connections, where they are available. Eric Null, US Policy Manager at Access Now, argues that the FCC should ensure the Lifeline program lives up to its name during this time. "The FCC should not kick low-income people while they're down," he says. "The agency should instead protect and expand the program in ways that benefit low-income communities who rely on the service."

Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge, likewise called on the government to do everything in its power to get high-speed connections to as many people as possible. "Congress and the FCC need to step up and increase everyone's speeds to at least 25/3 Mbps, where feasible," she said, noting that these speeds are necessary for everything from online classrooms to telemedicine services. "This will enable more Americans to access the online services that they need during this pandemic."

Telecommunication Internet service providers have provided the Federal Communications Commission with a laundry list of coronavirus-related temporary deregulation, including waiving deadlines, suspending rules, and providing more funding, all to address the teleworking and telemedicine and distance-learning load of a homebound workforce and student population. In its letter to the FCC, USTeecom conceded it could be costly and said they would press Congress to appropriate the money. 

While ISPs have all signed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's connectivity pledge, which includes not terminating customers and waiving late fees for 60 days, the association said the reality is that such a promise comes with a revenue loss ("revenues they expected to have available"). And, it is becoming clear that some customers may not be able to pay even after the 60 days, and broadband providers are already being pressed to extend that period. USTelecom said that for some, particularly smaller companies, that could have a substantial impact on revenues and operations. "The Commission should be mindful of this fact and consider how it can provide appropriate assistance and support as outlined [below]" it told the FCC. 

On March 23, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act. The new law requires the Federal Communications Commission, before the end of the summer, to dramatically reform the nation's problematic broadband deployment maps. The new law resulted from strong bipartisan consensus. The Broadband DATA Act is actually the combination of two bipartisan bills originally introduced in the House of Representatives: the Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services Act (MAPS Act) and the House version of the Broadband DATA Act introduced by Reps. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Bob Latta (R-OH), the Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member. Provisions in the MAPS Act explicitly make it unlawful for a person to willfully, knowingly, or recklessly submit inaccurate broadband service data. The Broadband DATA Act requires the FCC to adopt new rules, by September 21, that mandates the biannual collection, verification, and dissemination of granular data relating to the availability and quality of service with respect to terrestrial fixed, fixed wireless, satellite, and mobile broadband internet access service, from which the FCC will compile broadband coverage maps.