Federal Agencies Offer Help on EBB Program Rollout

Agencies offered to assist with the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, said a letter posted Thursday. Each agency emphasized "interest in being of service to this important effort to aid Americans who have found themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide" during the pandemic, the letter said. Terms like "connected device," "standard rate" and "tablet" need to be defined, said NTIA. The Education Department proposed temporarily making the FCC a "designated entity" to award "aid" through the program so Pell Grant recipients can be notified they may be eligible. Expand the definition of "tribal lands" so households near Indian reservations are eligible, said the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Allow public housing authorities to participate in the program because many sign bulk purchase agreements with ISPs, Department of Housing and Urban Development officials said. The National Economic Council and Health Resources and Services Administration also participated in a discussion with front office officials of the Wireline Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.