Advocates Say FCC Shouldn't 'Rush' to Overturn Biden-Era Wi-Fi Programs
FCC items reversing its off-premises hot spot and school bus Wi-Fi programs, which were approved during the Biden administration, are expected to be approved 2-1 Tuesday, with a dissent from Commissioner Anna Gomez, agency and industry officials told us. Officials active in the proceeding warned that for the school bus program in particular, it’s unclear what will happen to projects already funded under the E-rate program.
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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr circulated the two items, which would zero out both programs, for an electronic vote in early September (see 2509030064), then added them to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting to force a vote. Supporters of the programs said they scrambled to put together a letter before the sunshine period took effect, once it became clear that commissioners would vote at the meeting (see 2509240037). They noted that the FCC didn’t post drafts of the Wi-Fi items, like it did for others, so there are many unanswered questions.
Carr acted after it became increasingly likely that the House wouldn’t vote to approve a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval of the hot spots program, which has been a focus of Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2509250049). Gomez has made her opposition known.
Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director Joey Wender said that compared with a CRA, FCC action is “the lesser of two evils,” but they have the same effect. “They both take away connectivity for low-income children, but only the CRA does it permanently.”
“School districts and libraries deserve notice of changes to the E-rate program,” Wender said, and the FCC shouldn’t “rush to action.” The agency should “instead open a proceeding that both gives proper notice” and provides stakeholders "with an opportunity to weigh in at the commission.” Under the school bus program, the agency made awards in FY 2024, he noted. “We have real concerns about what the impact of FCC action will be on reimbursements to schools.”
Carr also has defenders. Former Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the FCC is right to cancel programs not specifically allowed under the Telecom Act. "The Wi-Fi hot spots and school bus E-rate expansions are clearly and outrageously outside the bounds of the statute,” O’Rielly said in an email. “Carr is completely correct to end these funding streams and let the advocates go to Congress to make their cases.”
Free State Foundation President Randolph May said “any arguments regarding why such funding should continue must be directed to Congress.”
The programs matter to the nation’s school districts, argued Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of advocacy and governance at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. Part of the reason this is moving at the FCC is there’s no “gumption” on the Hill to act, Ng told us. The FCC acting is better than Congress approving a CRA because a future FCC can more easily revisit the issue, she said. But “just because it’s less bad doesn’t make it good.”
E-rate support for hot spots “was established as allowable under a full regulatory procedure under the past administration,” Ng said. The current FCC should have established a similar proceeding and reopened the record, she said. School districts and libraries across the U.S. submitted applications “in good faith.”
The FCC action will undermine applications that were approved and incorporated in district budgets, Ng added. “Give us at least a 30- or 60-day comment period so you can hear from the field, the people who using it … as opposed to a forced vote.” She said she could have gotten letters from school superintendents from all 50 states on why the programs are important to them.
The opposition to hot spots is “mystifying and misinformed,” said Megan Janicki, the American Library Association's deputy director of strategic initiatives. “Library hot spots are highly in demand and highly impactful.” The program is “carefully targeted and cost-controlled, fully within the bounds of the law … and virtually all policymakers recognize we have more work to do before all people have the internet access they need.”
In a filing last week, SHLB, AASA and other groups raised funding issues. “We question whether overturning this program via a declaratory ruling would roll back committed funding for FY 2024,” they said. “This not only undermines applicants’ trust in the E-Rate program’s precedence and predictability, but could also force schools to find alternative funding for these services, a particularly burdensome challenge for those operating under tight budget constraints or procedures.”