Upcoming policy issue

With few funds dedicated to expanding at-home internet access in the $2.2 trillion “phase three” economic stimulus package, broadband advocates and the telecommunications industry are starting to push for the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to ensure that the government prioritizes expanding and funding existing subsidy programs in the next relief legislation to bring more Americans online as the coronavirus continues to spread.

 As Congress contemplates a new package of Covid-19 countermeasures, digital connectivity is shaping up to be a significant negotiating point. Telecom provisions that could be in play: Democrats will push for billions of dollars to close the online Homework Gap and help low-income households with connectivity. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also led her Democratic chairs in a renewed infrastructure push that would wrap in $86 billion for broadband efforts.

Leaders in Washington signaled that they are looking to steer more money to infrastructure projects as a way to help the economy recover from the damage the virus has wrought. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and key lieutenants pitched an existing five-year, $760 billion infrastructure investment plan as a recovery proposal.

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.

From Boeing to Verizon Communications, scores of US companies and industries are furiously lobbying Congress to add measures to the Trump administration’s massive stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, some of which address issues that long predate the outbreak.

Capitol Hill is locked in a fight over how much money to funnel to help students and teachers sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic get access to online learning, creating uncertainty for school districts as lawmakers and the White House rush to finalize a package of emergency measures. Millions of students are currently stuck at home as schools across the nation close, some without access to broadband internet and other tools needed to engage in remote learning.

As the federal government shifts into an all-hands-on-deck fight to battle coronavirus, President Donald Trump and his White House have increasingly called on tech companies to lend a hand.

Big Tech and Big Telecom are wrangling over a Federal Communications Commission plan that would open up an unprecedented amount of airwaves to meet the nation’s Wi-Fi demand. The FCC is expected to vote before the end of April on a plan that may quintuple the amount of spectrum available to handle data from millions of Wi-Fi-connected smartphones, laptops, and other devices.

As state lawmakers debate in committee rooms and Capitol chambers around the country, various broadband and Internet network infrastructure bills are appearing on agendas. Some are good news for local communities interested in developing publicly owned networks while other preemption bills make projects more difficult to plan, fund, and execute. We've gathered together some notable bills from several states that merit watching - good, bad, and possibly both. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s tech task force is gearing up to take on 5G wireless, said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The bipartisan mix of lawmakers will be “looking at some of these intricacies that affect spectrum and 5G deployment, security of the network and applications that are available to make life more convenient and accessible for consumers,” she said. Sen Blackburn also nudged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to make a call about whether to allow satellite firm Ligado Networks to light up wireless service.