In the wake of trillion-dollar stimulus packages, the signing of House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta's (R-OH) Broadband DATA Act and Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020 on March 23 received little fanfare. But the acts are likely to spur an invisible transformation for rural communities, Rep Latta said.  “The reality is, many Americans across the country and Ohioans in the district I represent who live in rural areas don’t have reliable internet connectivity. If that doesn’t change, they will be left behind.” Rep Latta, discussing the Broadband DATA Act, said, “As members (of Congress) in our districts, I’m in my car all the time. I’m looking a map of internet access and it’s not even close. I’m talking to people all the time and they are saying they don’t have (internet access) here. There’s no reason for the FCC to put money into something if you don’t know if it’s accurate to begin with.”

The timing of the two broadband bills is also important, for funding. Addressing coronavirus economic losses, the CARES act will be pumping $100 million into the FCC, $13.5 billion to K-12 education, $14.5 billion to higher education and $75 billion to healthcare and hospitals. Small businesses, local governments and farmers will benefit from the infrastructure improvements as a byproduct of the broadband internet infrastructure money for telehealth and education. It won’t be immediate, but they are building the maps now, Rep Latta said.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Education announced efforts to promote the use of $16 billion in funding from the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act’s Education Stabilization Fund for remote learning. The agencies will work with governors, states, and local school districts as they leverage funding to best help students learning from home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act states that local educational agencies (LEAs) may use the funding for “[p]urchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity).” The application for such funds provides that, “The SEA (state education agency) must assure that, when applicable, it will provide technical assistance to LEAs on the use of ESSER funds for remote learning. . . .” It also indicates the US Secretary of Education’s interest in reporting on the use of funds to address “the digital divide, including securing access to home-based connectivity and remote-use devices. . . .” In addition, the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund makes approximately $3 billion in emergency block grants available to governors to decide how to best meet the needs of students. The application for such funds requests governors include information on the extent that a governor intends to use GEER funds “to establish, develop, improve, or expand the availability, accessibility, capacity, and use of remote learning techniques and technologies,” especially for students with disabilities and students from low-income families. It also indicates the Secretary’s interest in reporting on the use of funds to support remote learning.

The FCC will publicize CARES Act resources available to governors, states, local school districts, and schools, including identifying service providers in their areas that may be able to quickly provide broadband connectivity and devices to support remote learning. For example, hundreds of broadband service providers have signed Chairman Pai’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge, and many have agreed to go above and beyond those commitments to ensure that communities and schoolchildren are connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Broadcasters are telling the Federal Communications Commission that the current pandemic provides even more argument for loosening broadcast ownership regulations. They are telling the FCC it needs to declare the video and audio markets more competitive than they have ever been, arguing that both FCC ownership limits — which the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai has tried to loosen —and Department of Justice merger reviews are "premised on the view that local TV and radio stations exist in markets hermetically sealed against the vast array of choices available to audiences and advertisers." Hardly, said the National Association of Broadcasters. "What is certain is that the pandemic will exacerbate existing challenges for local TV stations competing with much larger, better capitalized, and less regulated digital companies for advertising revenue, even as broadcast stations outperform other outlets in serving their local communities," NAB told the FCC.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Rep Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) joined Rep John Curtis (R-UT) in releasing the bipartisan Open Technology Fund Authorization Act (HR 6621). The legislation will bolster US efforts to respond to oppressive censorship and internet restriction worldwide by authorizing the Open Technology Fund (OTF) as an independent grantee within the US Agency for Global Media. This will enable the OTF to better support global projects focused on counteracting repressive censorship and surveillance to promote free speech and communication on the internet.