Tag Archives: WiFi Hotspots

FCC Killing USF WiFi Hotspots

After a prompt from Senator Ted Cruz, the FCC will be voting to ban using the Universal Service Fund to buy hotspots that can be lent to the public from libraries. This follows a similar action earlier this year when the FCC banned the Universal Service Fund from being used to put WiFi on school buses. With a 2:1 republican majority, this new proposal will be passed by the FCC.

Even if the FCC approves the resolution, the ban could be reversed by a future FCC. Senator Cruz is trying to get Congress to institute a permanent ban on using the USF for WiFi devices. The Senate approved a motion in May to ban WiFi from school buses, but this has yet to pass in the House.

The press release from the FCC included the following quote from Senator Cruz, “the Biden FCC hotspot program endangered kids, duplicated existing federal funding, and violated the law.” I am perplexed by the argument that lending WiFi units to homes endangers kids. The argument is based on the idea that lending a hotspot to a home can lead to unsupervised use of the Internet by children. That certainly is possible, but what does that say about the FCC’s mission to get a broadband connection into every home, which obviously can result in the same thing? Just under 90% of homes already have broadband and WiFi, which is even higher if you include kids using cellphones. It makes no sense to ban the lending of WiFi devices with the reason that WiFi is dangerous, when the FCC is designated by law to be the champion of broadband for everybody.

It also seems like an overstatement to say that using the Universal Service Fund to fund the distribution of WiFi devices is illegal. This argument is based on the idea that the USF Schools and Libraries fund should be used only to provide broadband directly at schools and libraries, and nowhere else. The previous FCC thought this program fit within its authority. The current FCC can decide to change the policy, but it’s hard to see a way to characterize a policy decision by a previous FCC as illegal.

I’ve talked to numerous librarians who tell me that WiFi lending is one of the most popular programs at their library. Folks wait for months to get a WiFi hotpot to use for looking for a job, doing homework, or generally enjoying the many benefits of broadband. Every library that lends hotspots tells me they wish they could get more devices.

The good news for libraries is that hotspots can be funded in many ways other than through the Universal Service Fund. A lot of school networks provide hotspots to students who don’t have home broadband. A number of non-profits provide hotspots to students and families who are in shelters or who become homeless. There are a lot of local efforts in communities across the country to fund and provide computers, cellphones, and hotspots for those who need them. Unfortunately, the NTIA killed the Digital Equity Act that would have provided billions of dollars to fund devices.

Killing FCC WiFi Hotspots

The U.S. Senate voted to kill the decision of the FCC to use the Universal Service Fund to fund WiFi hotspots for students and libraries. The House is supposed to take up the issue soon. The FCC approved this funding in 2024 under FCC Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel. The plan was to use the E-Rate funding aimed at schools and libraries to provide hotspots that can bring temporary broadband to homes with no broadband connection.

The FCC created this program in response to requests from schools and libraries that were already lending hotspots. The idea of using hotspots leaped onto the scene during the pandemic when schools were looking for ways to keep students connected to schoolwork. Many school districts have kept the program running at a reduced level since the pandemic and asked the FCC if it would be possible to fund an expansion of the effort.

In the 2024 vote on the issue, then-FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington voted against the plan and argued that the E-Rate statute limits funding to only support classrooms and library buildings. You might ask why the Senate is voting on this instead of the FCC. The program is supposed to kick into gear soon, and until a fifth FCC Commissioner is seated, it’s likely that a vote at the FCC to end the program would end in a deadlocked tie.

It’s easy to understand why school systems wanted this program to help students do homework. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of good broadband on the effectiveness of education. One of the key studies that quantified this was released in March 2020 by the Quello Center, part of the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. The study was unique in that it was able to isolate the impact of having home broadband from other factors such as sex, race, and family income. The study involved 3,258 students in Michigan in grades 8 – 11 from schools described as rural.

The study showed significant performance differences for students with and without home broadband. Students with no Internet access at home tested lower on a range of metrics, including digital skills, homework completion, and grade point average. Some of the specific findings included:

  • Students with home Internet access had an overall grade point average of 3.18, while students with no Internet access at home had a GPA of 2.81.
  • During the study, 64% of students with no home Internet access sometimes left homework undone, compared to only 17% of students with a high-speed connection at home.
  • Students without home Internet access spend an average of 30 minutes longer doing homework each evening.
  • The study showed lower expectations for students without broadband at home. For example, 65% of students with fast home broadband have plans to pursue post-secondary education, while only 47% of students with no Internet access have such plans.
  • Perhaps the most important finding was that there is a huge gap in digital skills for students without home broadband. To quote the study, “The gap in digital skills between students with no home access or cell phone only and those with fast or slow home Internet access is equivalent to the gap in digital skills between 8th and 11th grade students.” It was a devastating finding that students without home broadband fall three grades behind other students in terms of developing digital skills.

It’s clear from a purely educational perspective that students benefit tremendously from having a source of broadband for schoolwork in the home. The stated reason for undoing the hotspot plan is that it violates the intentions of the E-Rate program, but the reversal also seems to be aimed at undoing something approved by the previous administration. The press is now covering the Senate action as a major reversal of policy, but I recall that when this was originally approved, it barely made a ripple in the news.