OTI to FCC: Make the Emergency Broadband Benefit a ‘Rapid Success’

On Monday, OTI filed comments urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to quickly and successfully implement a new subsidy to help low-income people pay for broadband service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsidy, called the Emergency Broadband Benefit, was passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Trump in December. The program will provide $50 per month to qualifying low-income households and $75 in Tribal areas.

OTI’s comments made the following recommendations:

1. The FCC needs to build consumer trust in the new program
2. The program should adopt a “broadband nutrition label”
3. The FCC should prioritize finishing the National Verifier
4. The FCC should maximally streamline the application process for K-12 and higher education students
5. The FCC should collect ISP pricing data to ensure program integrity
6. The FCC should prohibit ancillary fees in qualifying service plans
7. The government and providers should aggressively publicize the program, including to consumers with previously unpaid bills
8. The FCC should report weekly on program expenditures

Since the onset of the pandemic, OTI repeatedly urged Congress to pass legislation to make internet service more affordable. OTI published three Cost of Connectivity studies that found U.S. internet prices are among the world’s highest, particularly in rural and Tribal communities.

The following quote can be attributed to Joshua Stager, senior counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“The high cost of internet service is a principal cause of the digital divide, yet the federal government has done little to directly address affordability—until last month. Congress passed a law to establish an Emergency Broadband Benefit, a new program that has the potential to help millions of people.

“Now it’s time for the FCC to make this program a reality. As the pandemic rages and the digital divide widens, the stakes for this program couldn’t be higher. We look forward to working with the FCC to make this program a rapid success for the millions of people who can’t afford internet service.”