D.C. Memo: Critics Fear the FCC's E-Rate Program Could Get the D-OGE Treatment
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wants to point the $2.4 billion program in a new direction in an effort to reduce student screen time in response to falling test scores and concerns about online safety
Today’s Headlines
■ FCC Looking to Stop Cities from Stalling Broadband Builds
■ NTCA Getting Good at Dissing Starlink without Saying Starlink
■ NCTA Wants at Least Five Years to Make Upper C-Band Transition
■ FCC Ready for Comments on SoftBank’s Takeover of ISP WideOpenWest
■ Phoenix Center Documents Real Decline in Broadband Prices Since 2020
■ New Mexico Spending $6 Million to Expand Public Wi-Fi
■ Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind): New Broadband Law Responded to ISPs That Overpromised and Underdelivered
■ FCC Inspector General to Get More Aggressive, Wiley Lawyers Say
■ Morgan Stanley Research Survey: Streaming Engagement Continues to Build
■ Washington State Awards $5.1 Million in Broadband Grants
■ Courtland Madock Named President and CEO of Alaska Communications
■ Ernie Hoffmann Named Chief Operations Officer at Summit Broadband
E-Rate: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seems to want to make major changes to the $2.4 billion E‑Rate program. At the agency’s June 25 meeting, Carr warned that years of rising classroom screen time have coincided with falling reading and math scores and widening achievement gaps. “The data show that reading and math skills have declined substantially,” he said. Carr is weighing whether E‑Rate should be refocused on basic connectivity, whether schools should face stronger online‑safety requirements, and whether the FCC should reinterpret the Children’s Internet Protection Act so that content restrictions apply to devices that kids bring to school. Carr is also considering tighter oversight of consultants and new safeguards to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse as device use in schools continues to expand. Some fear Carr wants to make deep funding cuts to a program that supports more than 100,000 schools and about 11,000 libraries across the country. (More after paywall)
