Commissioners Poised to OK $300M in Telehealth Items
Commissioners voiced support Tuesday for two telehealth items Chairman Ajit Pai announced Monday (see 2003300048). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said he voted yes before Tuesday's meeting. Brendan Carr had previously said similar. To be approved, FCC actions need three votes. When a chairman circulates an item, it usually signals the chair has voted yes.
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Carr, who oversees the Connected Care pilot, wants the FCC to approve the telehealth initiatives so the programs can make a difference immediately. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel committed to reviewing the COVID-19 telehealth item Tuesday. She wants to ensure congressionally appropriated telehealth funds "are distributed fast and fair without playing favorites, as I fear we're seeing elsewhere in the national response."
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly suggested the item be split in two. The one allocating $200 million in congressional spending on telehealth during COVID-19 is shorter and more immediate and could be voted on quickly, he said. He told reporters the $100 million Connected Care pilot program may require more time to consider since some parts aren't as clear cut. Pai said he would consider splitting the items.
The Democratic commissioners want the FCC to do more to respond to the pandemic. "Enact a connectivity stimulus to see Americans through the coronavirus crisis and power our economy," said Starks. With the steep rise in recent unemployment claims, expand affordable broadband options and Lifeline programs for struggling Americans, he said. School closures highlight the need for children's access to broadband: "Our longstanding digital divide has morphed into a monstrous new COVID-19 divide," Starks said.
Rosenworcel is grateful providers lifted data caps and promised not to discontinue service during the pandemic, and for the FCC waiving rules to help deploy communications services more broadly. "It's not time to be timid," she said. "We need to use all our powers in this crisis" to help close the homework gap and track network outages.
Asked whether he agreed the FCC should do more to close the digital divide during the pandemic through USF programs like E-rate or Lifeline, O'Rielly said Democratic commissioners "are sincere in their intent." He doesn't read the statutes in the same way. O'Rielly told reporters he doesn't want to downplay the value of broadband in closing the homework gap and is intrigued with what some school districts are doing with printed schoolwork packets for those without broadband: "They're responding the best they can." He hopes the agency revisits the role mobile broadband could play in closing the gap.
Carr said the FCC has been in constant contact with ISPs about network traffic and said networks have been resilient: "The surge in traffic we're seeing is well within the capacity of U.S. networks."
O'Rielly told reporters he doesn't anticipate a delay in the proposed October auction for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.