Act Quickly, Be Deliberate in Emergency Broadband Program, Panelists Tell FCC

Act quickly to set up the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, panelists told FCC commissioners during a roundtable Friday (see 2101070052). Several said it’s also important to prioritize transparency so providers and consumers are kept in the loop as the funds wind down.

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said program participants must have “clear and easy-to-follow rules of the road” as the commission sets up the program. “This means outreach efforts not only by this agency but also by all of our partners in this program and everyone represented here today,” she said. Commissioner Brendan Carr said his two priorities are remote learning and ensuring robust participation. Commissioner Nathan Simington said his office has been talking to companies nationally about potential difficulties reaching communities that are the least plugged-in during the pandemic. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, criticizing the “poor job the FCC has done ... to get the word out about the Lifeline program,” said a collaborative approach will be needed to ensure the sign-up process for the emergency broadband benefit is “as straightforward and simple as possible.”

Interested providers should be given enough time to set up their eligibility verification systems and do customer outreach, panelists largely agreed. Lifeline providers have the infrastructure to start offering the emergency discount to consumers, said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs (see 2101260053). “Mobile wireless could be the most efficient and cost-effective way to harness the benefit, and the commission’s rules should reflect that,” he said. Three upcoming Universal Service Administrative Co. webinars will help interested providers get the national verifier into their systems, and there needs to be a reasonable period of time between adopting rules and starting the program, Gerst said.

Small and rural providers urged the commission to set a level playing field so they can compete with larger providers already participating in the Lifeline program. Set a single start date for when providers can begin competing for customers, suggested Steve Morris, NCTA vice president-deputy general counsel. "Make sure providers can all enter at the same time and beneficiaries can enter at the same time," said Erica Myers, head of Microsoft’s Airband initiative in rural America, so there aren't "two or three classes of participants.”

Several panelists raised concerns about what happens when the temporary program ends. Providers and consumers need “good visibility into what happens when the funding starts to hit its expiration date,” said Mike Romano, NTCA senior vice president-industry affairs and business development. Anisa Green, AT&T director-federal regulatory, suggested the commission release weekly updates with a running total of subscribers, cumulative disbursements and an estimate of when funds may run out. Announcing a 120- or 90-day notice that funds are expected to run out may not be practical, said Virginia Lam Abrams, Starry senior vice president-government affairs. Biweekly “regular updates on funding levels ... allows providers and the FCC to accurately anticipate the expected program end date,” Abrams said.

Digital equity was a common theme among panelists. Develop program materials in as many languages as needed and simplify the process as much as possible, said Trinity Thorpe-Lubneuski, head of Comcast’s Internet Essentials. “To reach digital equity, it really has to be a partnership,” said Brenda Victoria Castillo, CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. Given mistrust of government from communities of color, partnering with trusted organizations and anchor institutions, like historically Black colleges and universities and tribal leaders, is a good start, she said. Faith-based organizations can also play a large role in connecting Black communities, said Fallon Wilson, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council vice president-policy. “If you look at Zoom and Facebook, Sunday mornings and Saturday evenings are really lit because people have figured out through their faith convictions to get adoption going,” Wilson said. “I think we should start there.”

The FCC needs to be more aggressive and intentional in its outreach efforts, said Francella Ochillo, Next Century Cities executive director. Her group contacted about 30 local governments, and few knew about the proceedings for this program, she said. “If they didn’t know about the proceeding and a lot of the broadband officers are on their staffs, that means the people they serve are not going to find out about this program,” Ochillo warned.