Broadband Aid, Remote Learning Likely Democratic FCC Priorities

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to focus on expanding broadband subsidies for low-income households in urban areas, a shift from the GOP strategy of fostering 5G infrastructure in rural areas, after Democrats take control of the agency in 2021.

Former Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is said to be a leading candidate for the agency chairmanship, along with current Democratic member Jessica Rosenworcel. Both have said they want to boost broadband subsidies for Americans struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We cannot be solely fixated on infrastructure; adoption is a very underappreciated challenge,” Clyburn said at an October industry event. “What is it all worth if the people who can benefit the most are not able to connect?”

Republican Michael O’Rielly’s term on the five-member commission will be over at the end of the year, and it’s unclear if the Senate will confirm Trump nominee Nathan Simington in the post-election lame-duck session. The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a Nov. 10 hearing on Simington’s nomination.

Republican chairman Ajit Pai hasn’t said whether he will depart from the commission altogether, as past chairmen have done. If Pai leaves and Simington isn’t confirmed this year, Democrats will have a 2-1 majority early in 2021.

Senate Commerce Committee staffers Olivia Trusty, Kelsey Guyselman and Crystal Tully are all seen as possible candidates for an open Republican FCC commissioner post, telecom attorneys said.

Remote Learning

Democrats also are expected to act swiftly to subsidize the cost of laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots and other remote learning tools for students who lack connectivity at home — a plan Rosenworcel has championed.

“There will be more focus on adoption and affordability,” Carol Mattey, former deputy chief of the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau from 2010 to 2017, said.

The Democratic FCC is likely to allow funds in the E-Rate program, which pays for broadband connections to schools and libraries, to be used for connected devices and Wi-Fi hotspots to assist with remote learning.

“No matter who is in there as chair, but especially if it’s Rosenworcel, very quickly you will see action to expand E-Rate to help provide connectivity for students who are struggling during Covid,” said Doug Brake, director of broadband policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank.

Pai has argued that the FCC is restricted from funding in-home connectivity because the law explicitly says E-Rate should support internet services for classrooms.

Rosenworcel and other Democrats have pointed to an E-Rate pilot program in 2010 that supported off-campus wireless internet services and devices that could serve as a blueprint to help students learning from home during the pandemic.

Broadband Discounts

A Democratic-led FCC would likely push to expand the Lifeline program, which provides monthly phone and broadband subsidies to low-income households.

Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in the past have called on the FCC to take emergency action to expand the program, as the agency did after Hurricane Katrina, by providing affected households with a temporary $130 dollar subsidy.

The commission may also boost the $9.25 monthly Lifeline subsidy, John Heitmann, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, said.

The agency likely will “place a focus on the affordability aspect of the digital divide, and that frankly has not been a focus of the current Republican-controlled FCC,” Heitmann said.

The FCC under Pai has taken steps aimed at reducing fraud in Lifeline, but Democrats say they have made it harder for eligible Americans to enroll and remain in the program.

The GOP-led FCC has focused on subsidizing the deployment of broadband infrastructure to rural areas where it would otherwise be unprofitable for carriers to serve.

While expanding rural broadband infrastructure will remain a priority in the Biden administration, Democrats will also focus on increasing internet use by making broadband services more affordable.

About 18.1 million Americans continue to lack access to broadband speeds at the FCC’s benchmark levels, according to the latest agency data. However, 157.3 million people in the U.S. are not using the internet at broadband speeds, according to data by Microsoft Corp.