Internet Orgs Urge Congress To Prioritize Broadband Access

By Kelcee Griffis
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Law360 (December 3, 2020, 7:52 PM EST) -- An array of broadband groups are urging lawmakers to solidify funding for broadband access and mapping this month, saying it should be a top priority for Congress before the end of the year.

In a letter dated Wednesday and released Thursday, USTelecom, NCTA, Incompas and nine other groups wrote that lawmakers must extend coronavirus rescue package funding that's being used to deploy broadband infrastructure and enable students' families to buy at-home internet service and devices.

"Congress has a unique and urgent opportunity to address the near-term broadband needs of millions of families and students," according to the letter.

For starters, the groups said, lawmakers could clarify that Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act funding that's currently being used for broadband-expansion projects will still apply in 2021. The $2 trillion pandemic aid package doled out some funding to support telemedicine, rural distance learning and web-connected devices.

Some states have used grants from the program to fund broadband providers' expansion, and those that are relying on CARES Act funding should be able to complete existing projects next year, the letter said.

"Solutions for broadband connectivity for unserved homes, businesses, schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities can facilitate educational opportunities, keep citizens healthy and gainfully employed, and help us all to better weather the challenges of the pandemic," the providers wrote.

The groups also said it was imperative that Congress free up funding for the Federal Communications Commission to implement a new methodology for mapping where broadband exists and where it does not, allowing the agency to more accurately target scarce federal funds to areas that most need the help.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took a jab at Congress this summer for not yet providing the funding needed to complete the mapping project, although lawmakers have pressured the FCC to update the broadband availability maps.

"We need money before maps, dollars before data," Pai said in July. "Once we get it, we'll be able to do the hard work of producing broadband availability maps with unprecedented detail, which will boost our efforts to close the digital divide."

The broadband groups reiterated Pai's concerns in the letter, saying Congress can't wait for the FCC to jump-start the project before it releases the necessary funds.

"The FCC cannot get started without funding. So, time is of the essence. The FCC must have the funding now that it needs to implement its new methodology," the groups said.

--Additional reporting by Julia Arciga. Editing by Alanna Weissman.

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