Blair Levin

When it comes to expanding broadband access, states have a lot on their plate right now. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, American Rescue Plan Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress appropriated tens of billions of dollars for universal broadband access and affordability, giving states the lion’s share of responsibility in deciding where and how to spend the funds. Now, states must establish new mechanisms for undertaking the many tasks necessary to do so.

The Senate infrastructure bill gave the primary responsibility of universal broadband deployment and adoption to the states, with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) providing oversight. To help achieve the Senate’s goals, the FCC should:

Congress has done a lot more than just set goals for access to broadband services—it finally provided the funding to do so. Most recently, the Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which, if passed by the House, would provide another $65 billion in funding. But to understand what the Senate both did and did not do in the new infrastructure package, we cannot simply focus on spending levels.

Three institutional and strategic problems that President Joe Biden’s Federal Communications Commission will have to resolve:

For some time, many experts have been warning that the universal service funding system is in a death spiral, as the base on which the fees are assessed—generally a telecom company’s interstate and international end-user revenues—is shrinking. The new Federal Communications Commission is forced to consider a rising assessment on a shrinking revenue base to address an increasing demand, with Ajit Pai’s FCC having not done any of the analytic, political, or legal work necessary to make adjustments. Pai was willing to spend billions to address the needs of rural communities lacking broadband.

The next administration should launch a concerted broadband data-collection and analysis effort to support smart, timely, and informed decision-making by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other agencies that work on broadband, such as the Rural Utilities Service. Specifically, the FCC should collect (or work with others to collect) comprehensive data on the following eight indicators:

The next administration should create a plan for a public, online platform to connect teachers with college students and recent graduates to serve as tutors for K-12 students. One-on-one tutoring is a proven intervention that improves children’s educational competencies and increases students’ self-confidence. Along with supporting students, this platform could provide needed employment for young adults and enable teachers and students together to produce improved educational outcomes.

This proposal outlines a series of actions to introduce a second monthly meeting of the five commissioners who comprise the Federal Communications Commission. During the additional meeting, FCC staff should present on major items that might be brought before the Commission for a vote in the next several months. This forward-looking monthly meeting gives the public information needed to provide meaningful input to the Commission prior to its decision-making. The meeting would also improve the Commissioners’ own ability to respond to policy recommendations.

At the Federal Communications Commission’s request, nearly 800 communications companies and trade groups signed the “Keep Americans Connected” pledge. The signatories agreed not to terminate service to any residential or small business customer, and to waive any late fees incurred, due to economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last time the country faced an economic crisis, Congress saw broadband as a significant tool to jumpstart the recovery.