Public Knowledge

Public interest, government, civil rights, labor, higher education, and rural advocacy groups urged Congress to offer a federal broadband subsidy in forthcoming COVID-19 stimulus packages. They argue that tens of millions of Americans — particularly low-income families, rural residents, and people of color — lack broadband access, leaving our most vulnerable communities struggling to stay connected with school, work, healthcare, entertainment, and their loved ones during the pandemic.

Urged on by broadband giants such as Charter Communications, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is pushing to confirm a Republican to the Federal Communications Commission. However, Majority Leader McConnell’s goal seems to extend further: creating a deadlocked Biden FCC 2–2, then blocking confirmation of a third Democrat. What Majority Leader McConnell intends as a gift to his corporate patrons could turn into a nightmare for them.

Public Knowledge, Communications Workers of America, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Next Century Cities, Common Cause, and Greenlining Institute filed an ex parte warning the Federal Communications Commission that its deregulatory agenda leaves consumers vulnerable to losing broadband service during the pandemic. AT&T recently told the FCC that it is discontinuing DSL broadband service.

If we want to make any progress on [connecting Americans] during hurricane season, then we need Congress to pass the “Reenforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks — or RESILIENT Networks — Act.” Congress should pass the RESILIENT Networks Act as quickly as possible. Neither the Federal Communications Commission nor state governments have taken the needed steps to update our regulations governing repair of physical networks to reflect modern network construction.