The Federal Communications Commission will soon offer underprivileged households credit on broadband costs to help offset straining from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 25, citing a pandemic relief initiative passed late last year.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit program will be set up within the next 60 days. It offers up to a $50-per-month discount on broadband services, which will rise to $75 a month for households on tribal lands. Discounts of $100 on computers and tablets also may be included. Full program details, including how to register, have not been announced.
“I have confidence in our staff that we will do this carefully, swiftly, and the right way,” acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. She added that the strains faced by low-income households are a challenge that is “all too real for too many families.”
The FCC has made sizable efforts in recent years to bridge digital connectivity gaps that some 30 million Americans face daily. Such issues have only been amplified with increased pressure on broadband connectivity in work-at-home environments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
One effort, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, whose first-phase auction began in October of 2020 under former FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, was implemented to bring high-speed fixed broadband service to rural homes and small businesses that lack such services.
Other connectivity extension initiatives include the Digital Opportunity Data Collection, a process for collecting fixed broadband data for mapping and identifying gaps in broadband coverage. Adoption rates, which measure how Americans implement broadband technology in their homes, are among some measures lacking in mapping coverage.
Pai brought a controversial angle to FCC policy when net neutrality was repealed in December of 2017. Net neutrality was established under an Obama-era rule which prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from favoring internet traffic for consumers.
Under President Joe Biden’s term, reinstatement of net neutrality is not out of the picture. Pressure from Democrats to reinstate open internet protections has taken hold since Rosenworcel’s chair appointment.
In May 2020, Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Commerce to file a petition for rulemaking with the FCC. It asked the agency to review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet platforms from civil and criminal liability for content created and posted by users of online platforms.
In October 2020, Pai said he planned to move forward with rulemaking to clarify the meaning of Section 230. He later flip-flopped on his decision, saying that he did not have enough time before his departure to resolve any confusion.
Pai, who stepped down on Jan. 20, steered the FCC towards its 5G deployment goals during his time as chair. He also established the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, which asked broadband providers to keep Americans online during the pandemic’s early months.
Nathan Simington, Trump’s newest nominee to the FCC, was advanced to the Senate chamber on Dec. 2 after a 14-12 vote by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He was later confirmed for the position in November, locking the agency into a 2-2 split.
With Rosenworcel at the Commission’s helm, one spot remains unfilled for a Biden pick to make the FCC a Democratic-majority lawmaker under his new presidential term.
