FCC Plans To Kill Wi-Fi On School Buses, Hotspots For Library Patrons

The US Federal Communications Commission may soon pull funding for free Wi-Fi on school buses and in libraries after Chair Brendan Carr declared two Biden-era expansions unlawful and proposed eliminating them.

Carr, who was elevated to his leadership position by President Donald Trump, said this week that two Biden-era E-Rate expansions - one that funded Wi-Fi access on school buses and the other that created library lending programs for mobile Wi-Fi hotspots - were illegal, and as such had to go. 

The FCC chair explained his reasoning by saying that Congress did not authorize the agency to use its E-Rate program for off-campus broadband after pandemic subsidies ended, and called the Biden FCC's move to do so a "plain violation of the limits Congress imposed on the FCC's authority." 

The E-Rate program, which provides discounts on internet access and related gear for eligible schools and libraries, established the funding.

In order to make the decision to cut off free Wi-Fi funding for school kids and eliminate library lending of Wi-Fi hotspots for the poor and disadvantaged more palatable to those who might see the moves as cruel and capricious, both Carr and US Senator Ted Cruz decided to tack children's safety to their opposition to the programs, too. 

According to Carr's statement, the FCC's decision to expand the program not only "spent scarce taxpayer dollars," but it did so to fund "unsupervised screen time for kids without accounting for the significant attendant risks."

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Cruz, whose own attempt to force Congress to eliminate the school Wi-Fi portion of the program in a bill earlier this year has stalled, also argued that children are harmed by easy access to the internet. 

"Kudos to Chairman Carr for moving to undo the Biden hotspot program and protect children," Cruz said in Carr's press release. "I'm pleased that the FCC is moving to protect both taxpayers and parents' ability to decide what their children can access online."

Children, of course, won't be the only ones harmed by the elimination of the programs. Those without the money for Wi-Fi who need temporary access to the internet that could be provided by a library will be out of luck if the two measures Carr introduced for an FCC vote pass, too. 

Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat left on the FCC, issued a dissenting statement on Carr's proposals, calling them an example of the "cruelty and indifference" of the Trump administration to the plight of disadvantaged Americans. 

"Millions of students and seniors depend on hotspots and school bus Wi-Fi for homework and tele-health services," Gomez said. "[These] proposals will only widen the gap between those with access to modern-day tools and those left behind." 

A spokesperson for Gomez told The Register that the child safety concern was a weak argument given how Wi-Fi enabled devices used by schools have to be configured.

"Every device that is Wi-Fi enabled and belongs to a school is already required by law to have built-in firewalls or other guardrails to prevent unauthorized use of that equipment," Gomez's Policy and Strategic Communications Advisor Jonathan Uriarte said in an email.

As an item on circulation at the Commission, a vote on the matter could be held at any time outside of a normal monthly FCC Open Meeting. Uriarte told us Gomez hasn't voted on the matter yet, but that votes can be made at the Commissioners' discretion. The full text of proposals on circulation isn't shared until they're adopted. Outside of Gomez's team, the FCC didn't respond to questions for this story. ®