FCC, House Pursue Different Approaches to Keeping Americans Online

Americans continue to suffer the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the FCC and the House of Representatives recently took steps to prevent those struggling to pay their bills from being forced offline. The former did so via a renewed appeal for voluntary action. The latter passed legislation imposing specific obligations and establishing a reimbursement program for providers of discounted service.

A May 13 FSF Perspectives describes how, on March 13, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called upon the broadband industry to take the Keep Americans Connected Pledge. ISPs and trade associations that agreed to do so committed to maintaining service for those impacted financially by the novel coronavirus, waiving late fees, and allowing members of the public to access their Wi-Fi hotspots.

The time period covered by that pledge originally was to end on May 12. However, on April 30 the Commission extended it through the end of June. On May 14, it announced that a total of 774 broadband and telephone providers were on board. After the FCC concluded that additional relief was appropriate, the number of signatories went up, not down.

Meanwhile, on May 15, the House passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which now awaits consideration by the Senate. Section 130401 of that bill converts the voluntary commitments solicited by the FCC into legal requirements that would remain in effect for the duration of this public health emergency.

It also prohibits broadband ISPs from enforcing data caps and charging for overages. Though beyond the scope of the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, a number of providers already had elected to take these additional steps, actions approvingly acknowledged by the Commission.

However, another provision of the HEROES Act, Section 130301, does create an $8.8 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund to provide reimbursements to eligible providers offering discounted service. Notably and explicitly, eligible providers need not be designated as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) under Section 214(e) of the Communications Act.

Section 130301 directs the FCC to establish, within seven days of enactment (that is, without first conducting a notice-and-comment rulemaking), a program by which eligible households would receive a monthly discount of up to $50 on Internet service for the duration of the current crisis. The Commission would reimburse eligible providers for providing that discount, as well as up to $100 for supplying a laptop, desktop PC, or tablet. 

Eligible households are those that include at least one consumer who: meets the qualifications to participate in the Lifeline program, has been approved to receive free or reduced price breakfast or lunch at school, or has experienced a verifiable and substantial loss of income during since February 29.

Reimbursable monthly discounts would be made available for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency and six months thereafter.