FCC chairman leads “cruel” vote to take Wi-Fi access away from school kids

Summary

The FCC votes were criticized by advocacy groups. "Students who rely on long bus rides to complete assignments and library patrons who depend on hotspots for work, education, or telehealth will suddenly lose access to essential tools. This decision is a step backward," said Joseph Wender, executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition. "Chairman Carr's cruel move to delete our kids' Internet connections won't make America smarter," said Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. The FCC "openly voted to snatch back the opportunity to offer more Americans, especially in rural areas, the high-speed Internet access to do the business of life online—pay bills, make telehealth appointments, fill out school applications—after the library closes," American Library Association President Sam Helmick said. The advocacy groups said that in New Mexico, "Farmington Municipal Schools equipped its 90 buses with Wi-Fi, serving over 6,500 students daily. Parents reported that children returned home with homework already completed." In Ohio, "the Brown County Public Library's hotspot program allowed homeschool families to join virtual classes, entrepreneurs to run mobile businesses, and veterans to participate in telehealth appointments and certification testing." Helmick said the library association is also "discouraged by the lack of due process, which left no opportunity for staff, patrons and library advocates to give input on the draft order." Gomez similarly criticized the process, saying the FCC didn't release the draft order until after the deadline for interested parties to meet with commissioners' offices. Gomez: Programs weren’t illegal Gomez disputed Carr's legal argument, saying that "Congress gave the FCC permission to expand the applications of E-Rate funding as the technologies used to educate children evolve." She pointed out that the Universal Service law says the FCC may designate additional service...