The FCC should act quickly to help school districts give students the devices and connectivity they need to learn online while schools are closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, educational technology stakeholders said in recent interviews. An estimated 6 million to 12 million K-12 schoolchildren don't have residential broadband. Some school districts are postponing online classes until all their students can be connected.

The FCC should act quickly to help school districts give students the devices and connectivity they need to learn online while schools are closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, educational technology stakeholders said in recent interviews. An estimated 6 million to 12 million K-12 schoolchildren don't have residential broadband. Some school districts are postponing online classes until all their students can be connected.

Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz of Hawaii and 11 other Senate Democrats urged the FCC Monday to temporarily allow schools to use E-rate program funding to provide Wi-Fi hot spots or other connectivity devices to students who lack at-home internet access amid widespread closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of House Commerce Committee Democrats similarly said last week top ISPs should address remote learning connectivity amid school closures (see 2003130066). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai got pledges last week from top ISPs to keep everyone online for the next 60 days amid the outbreak. “The FCC can use its emergency powers to temporarily waive relevant E-rate program rules and allow its beneficiaries to utilize universal service funding to provide home wireless service to existing school devices and hotspots for students who lack internet access at home,” the Democratic senators said in a letter to Pai. “This swift, immediate action would help ensure that all students can remotely continue their education during the current public health emergency.” Others signing the letter include Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and Senate Education Committee ranking member Patty Murray of Washington. The FCC didn't comment.

Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz of Hawaii and 11 other Senate Democrats urged the FCC Monday to temporarily allow schools to use E-rate program funding to provide Wi-Fi hot spots or other connectivity devices to students who lack at-home internet access amid widespread closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of House Commerce Committee Democrats similarly said last week top ISPs should address remote learning connectivity amid school closures (see 2003130066). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai got pledges last week from top ISPs to keep everyone online for the next 60 days amid the outbreak. “The FCC can use its emergency powers to temporarily waive relevant E-rate program rules and allow its beneficiaries to utilize universal service funding to provide home wireless service to existing school devices and hotspots for students who lack internet access at home,” the Democratic senators said in a letter to Pai. “This swift, immediate action would help ensure that all students can remotely continue their education during the current public health emergency.” Others signing the letter include Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and Senate Education Committee ranking member Patty Murray of Washington. The FCC didn't comment.

The FCC will devote an additional $42.19 million to fund all eligible rural healthcare program services for the current funding year, said an order commissioners adopted Friday for docket 02-60. It permits Universal Service Administrative Co. to carry forward unused funds from prior years. It waives a cap on multiyear commitments and upfront payments that would result in unnecessary reductions in support for rural healthcare providers and patients. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order last month (see 2002210052). Pai tweeted earlier Friday that he wanted a vote so the additional funding could go to help healthcare providers address the spread of the coronavirus. After OK, he tweeted, "we finally got the votes!" This "is a critically important step that the FCC took today, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic," Pai said. "COVID-19 presents serious challenges to healthcare providers, and they need every tool in the toolbox at their disposal, particularly the enhanced connectivity that enables them to provide vital healthcare services to the American public. Today's order ensures that rural Americans will have access to the healthcare services they need." A commissioner's aide said there wasn't controversy among commissioners over the order's adoption.

The FCC will devote an additional $42.19 million to fund all eligible rural healthcare program services for the current funding year, said an order commissioners adopted Friday for docket 02-60. It permits Universal Service Administrative Co. to carry forward unused funds from prior years. It waives a cap on multiyear commitments and upfront payments that would result in unnecessary reductions in support for rural healthcare providers and patients. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order last month (see 2002210052). Pai tweeted earlier Friday that he wanted a vote so the additional funding could go to help healthcare providers address the spread of the coronavirus. After OK, he tweeted, "we finally got the votes!" This "is a critically important step that the FCC took today, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic," Pai said. "COVID-19 presents serious challenges to healthcare providers, and they need every tool in the toolbox at their disposal, particularly the enhanced connectivity that enables them to provide vital healthcare services to the American public. Today's order ensures that rural Americans will have access to the healthcare services they need." A commissioner's aide said there wasn't controversy among commissioners over the order's adoption.

House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and other legislators raised FCC broadband issues during a Wednesday House Appropriations Financial Services hearing on the commission’s FY 2021 budget request. They criticized the agency’s decision to advance its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund without first improving its broadband coverage data collection process and the length of the commission’s recently concluded probe into wireless carriers’ disclosure of consumers’ real-time location data. The Senate passed a House-revised version of the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (S-1822) Tuesday that now serves as a broadband mapping legislative package.

House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Mike Quigley, D-Ill., told us he’s eyeing attaching a rider to the subcommittee’s FY 2021 appropriations bill aimed at allocating proceeds from the FCC’s coming auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. Quigley raised concerns about the FCC’s current C-band auction plan during a Wednesday House Appropriations Financial Services hearing on the commission’s FY 2021 budget request. The C-band plan drew criticism from Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., during that subpanel’s Tuesday FCC budget hearing (see 2003100022).

The record shows new supply chain rules designed to protect U.S. networks are both “legally unsound and factually unjustified,” Huawei replied to the FCC. Commissioners approved rules 5-0 in November barring equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE in networks funded by the USF, and sought comment on whether to expand the prohibition (see 1911220033). In initial comments last month, industry groups raised concerns (see 2002040047), and replies appeared in docket 18-89 through Wednesday. Last week, the Senate passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998).

California Public Utilities Commission members pondered their power to increase broadband adoption, at an en banc livestreamed Wednesday from San Francisco. The CPUC should take an active role, including by funding open networks and issuing more aggressive speed guidelines, said Preston Rhea, engineering director of local ISP Monkeybrains. AT&T and Comcast officials described an informational role for the agency to spur adoption as they promoted their own low-costs programs. Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves cited flaws in programs like AT&T Access and Comcast Internet Essentials.