The FCC doesn’t have legal authority to use E-rate funds to pay for wireless connections so students can learn at home, Chairman Ajit Pai said in a letter to Senate Democrats posted Thursday. “The Commission must act within the bounds of the statutory authority given to the agency by Congress and use E-Rate program funding for broadband and other ‘services’ provided to school ‘classrooms,’” Pai wrote: “As such, wireless connectivity and devices supplied to students at home unfortunately do not qualify for E-Rate support under the law, regardless of whether they are being used for educational purposes.” A September letter by most Senate Democrats asked Pai “to utilize the E-Rate program to close” the homework gap “without further delay.”

Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., and Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., asked GAO Thursday to “conduct a comprehensive review of current government agency advertising expenditures,” citing declines in local media ad revenue during the pandemic. They want GAO to update its 2016 evaluation of government ad spending, which the agency said averaged almost $1 billion annually for 2006-15. They want the new review to focus on spending for FY 2015-20 and examine in which media government agencies are placing ads, including “national television, local television, local radio, national newspapers, local newspapers, digital news sites, Internet search engines” and “social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.” Local ads are "an easy way for our government agencies to provide much-needed support,” said News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern. Such materials are "recognized as an effective way to keep the public informed,” said NAB CEO Gordon Smith. GAO didn’t comment.

Vermont awarded more than $4 million in broadband grants using federal COVID-19 relief funding, the Department of Public Service said Tuesday. The largest grants were $1.9 million to Tilson and nearly $1 million to Topsham Telephone, both for fiber projects. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Wednesday the state will spend $30 million of federal pandemic relief for broadband in underserved areas.

CTA found 17% of U.S. homes bought new smartphones in the week ended Saturday, said the association Wednesday. That was up 3 points from the week ended Sept. 20 and down from its 20% peak in the week ended Aug. 9. Headphone demand slid to 18% from its 21% peak in the week ended Sept. 6. The association began tracking weekly pandemic consumer tech use in late March and changed it to a biweekly survey after June 3.

Paychex ended fiscal Q1 Aug. 31 with results that were “better than originally projected, as most of our key business metrics recovered at a faster rate than anticipated,” said CEO Martin Mucci on a Tuesday investor call. Payroll clients in “non-processing status” since COVID-19 furloughs began are beginning “to pay employees again,” he said. “We still have some that have suspended their service, but it’s getting down to a very low number,” perhaps “a quarter of what we saw” at the peak, he said. Mucci declined to predict future unemployment trends. Paychex has seen “half the jobs come back that were lost” to the pandemic, he said. “I think it’s going to continue to improve, but at a slower rate than we had. And then I think the hardest prediction is really kind of after the election, what does that do to things.”

Demand for connectivity tools to fill remote work and learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic fueled import growth in laptops and tablets, according to Census Bureau statistics we accessed Wednesday through the International Trade Commission. U.S. importers sourced 49.02 million smartphones from all countries in Q3, a 22% sequential increase. Unit imports declined 8.9% from the 53.83 million smartphones shipped here in Q3 2019. Imports of $11.67 billion were 20% higher than Q2, down 14% year over year. The average smartphone from China, the dominant source, was $251.41, 1.5% cheaper than in Q2 and a 5.8% drop year over year. U.S. importers sourced 34.26 million laptops and tablets from all countries, increasing 10% from Q2 and 29% jump from third-quarter 2019. Major PC vendors and their retailers said laptop shipments would be even higher if not for parts shortages. Q3 imports of $14.3 billion were 5.1% higher than in Q2, and up 32% from a year earlier. The average import was $417.40, nearly 5% cheaper than Q2 and up 2.6% from the 2019 quarter.

Consumers are more willing to share their smartphone data for contract tracing if they know someone who has had COVID-19, reported Parks Associates Wednesday. More than 80% of those who know someone infected are willing to share smartphone data, with privacy protections, vs. 65% who don’t. The effectiveness of contact tracing depends on the recall quality of the infected person and the timeliness of tracers’ ability to locate and contact those potentially exposed, said Parks Senior Director Jennifer Kent. Using Bluetooth to detect the distance and duration of interaction, a smartphone-based approach can identify people with whom an infected person may have interacted but doesn't know. It can also make notifications of potential exposure “nearly instantaneous.” In March, 8% of survey respondents knew at least one person who had COVID-19; that jumped to 35% in May. By Wednesday, the U.S. had 7,504,116 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 210,972 deaths, said the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Seventy percent of those with firsthand COVID-19 experience said they’re willing to share smartphone data to track COVID-19; 59% of those with a household member who had the disease would share, said the survey. Just under half who had experienced no symptoms would be willing to share. By mobile operating system, 58% of iPhone users would be willing, 47% of Android users. Age affected willingness to share smartphone data for contract tracing, said the report: 90% of respondents ages 18-24 were willing to share if privacy protections are offered, vs. 63% of those 65 and older. Higher-income households and those with higher levels of education are more likely to share, it said. For more effective digital contact tracing, “consumers must adopt the technology,” said Kent, citing an Oxford University study saying adoption by 15% of the population will result in reduced disease transmission and fewer deaths; adoption by 60% of the population or more yields the biggest public health benefit. To promote wider adoption, Apple and Google rolled out the Exposure Notification Express system Sept. 1, removing the requirement that individuals seek out and download an app from a public health official to participate, Kent noted. But state adoption is “slow,” she said, with only 10 states signed on by mid-September; 25 more expressed interest.

Over four in 10 U.S. consumers plan to buy a TV this holiday season, with smart TVs leading gift-giving and receiving tech lists, said a Roku survey conducted by Harris. Some 70% plan to spend the same or more on gifts this holiday season, said Tuesday's report. Average holiday spending is expected to be $885, up 2.5% from the 2019 survey; a third plan to buy more gifts due to sheltering in place rules barring them from visiting family and friends. Also due to COVID-19 concerns, consumers expect to do 65% of their holiday shopping virtually. Most consumers are primary streamers, with nearly one in three having cut the cord. For the first time in the survey’s history, Americans reported spending more time streaming than watching pay TV; average reported streaming hours grew 19% year over year vs. traditional TV viewing hours, which fell 13%. Some marketers are adapting their advertising strategies to meet consumers where they spend most of their viewing time, said Roku Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Anderson. About 43% of consumers (including two-thirds of millennials) said an ad on a streaming service led them to pause content, go online and shop for the product advertised. Citing a “tipping point” for the future of TV, Abbey Lunney, director-trends and thought leadership at Harris Poll, said the shift to streaming shows that marketers need to adjust their engagement strategies. The survey polled 2,000 U.S. adults Sept. 8-12.

Next Century Cities supported calls to reconvene California's legislature to pass SB-1130 to increase the state internet speed standard to 25 Mbps symmetrical from 6/1 Mbps (see 2009290064). “Access to the internet in our rural and urban areas makes the difference between whether people got evacuation orders and are able to access critical information,” Next Century Cities quoted Santa Cruz County Third District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty saying, in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). COVID-19 makes the digital divide more acute, says Second District Supervisor Zach Friend.

Providers were receptive to the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected pledge, launched in the early days of the pandemic (see 2003130025), because they want to do the right thing and it makes business sense, Chairman Ajit Pai said in a speech Tuesday to the International Regulators’ Forum. “In trying times, most people want to do the right thing, not just for their company and customers, but for their fellow citizens." The market “creates powerful incentives for companies to do the right thing in times of national crisis,” he said: “If your company doesn’t step up for you, or even worse, engages in bad behavior, you’ll be much more likely to turn to the competition in the weeks, months, or years ahead.”