FCC to Provide $7.2B for Emergency Connectivity Fund for Unsafe Wi-Fi Hotspots, etc.

By B.N. Frank

A group of telecom experts, “The Irregulators”, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because Americans have been overcharged for decades for telecom services many still haven’t received. Irregulator Bruce Kushnick has written dozens of chart-filled articles about this and how Americans continue to be overcharged (see also 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). In fact, last year during an interview, then FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai confirmed that the funds are available to allow communities to “bridge the digital divide”:

Admittedly “not heavy handed”Ajit is no longer with the FCC. Nevertheless, current FCC commissioners (which include appointees from the Trump era) insist on giving billions more to telecom and cable companies to provide unsafe internet access via Wi-Fi when Americans have already paid for the installation of safer and more reliable fiber optics to the premises and maintaining copper landlines.

From Fierce Telecom:

FCC opens floodgates for $7.2B Emergency Connectivity Fund

by Diana Goovaerts |

Jun 28, 2021 4:42pm

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prepared to distribute another wave of broadband subsidies, this week opening applications for its $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program.

Established in March as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the ECF will provide support to schools and libraries to help them buy laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and commercial broadband service to meet the off-campus connectivity needs of students, staff and library patrons. In areas where commercial broadband is unavailable, schools and libraries will be permitted to use program funding to provision their own service, senior FCC officials told journalists on a call.

Support is capped at $400 for connected devices such as tablets and laptops and $250 for Wi-Fi hotspots. The Commission did not set funding limits for modems and routers, nor commercial connectivity, though said costs for the latter are expected to range between $10 and $25 per month per person assuming bulk purchase discounts apply.

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has catered to the telecom and cable industries for decades (see 1, 2). Lawsuits have been filed against it for NOT protecting the public from unsafe levels of cell phone and WiFi radiation as well as 5G on Earth (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and in space.