◼ TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek March 30, 202020
ThisspringtheU.S.governmentwasplanningto
focusonitsstrategyforrollingoutfifth-generation
wireless networks, bringing faster internet connec-
tions to power movie downloads, telemedicine,
self-drivingcars,andmore.Officialswanttosee
5G,nowavailableinonlysomecities,rampedup
quicklyandtokeepChinesecompanies suchas
HuaweiTechnologiesCo.fromdominatingthecrit-
icalnetworkingtechnology.Thenthenewcorona-
virus hit, sending workers and schoolchildren
home to try to do their jobs and continue their
education on laptops.
Suddenly 5G took a back seat to a much more
pressing problem: Tens of millions of Americans
don’t have access to reliable internet connectiv-
ity, or can’t afford it, and will have trouble com-
municating, working, and attending classes online
without it.
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, asked internet providers on March 13
to commit to a 60-day grace period during which
they wouldn’t charge late fees or cut off service to
people and small businesses who don’t pay their
bills. He also asked them to open up Wi-Fi hotspots,
expanding their reach to nonsubscribers. But after
that period ends, the number of people without
internet could become even larger.
Advocates for expanded regulatory authority
overbroadbandnowseemoreneedforit than
ever.“Thebroadbandcompaniesusedtoattack
meforutility-style regulation,” says former FCC
Chairman Tom Wheeler. “We’re talking about crit-
ical services.”
Pai made closing the digital divide a priority
when President Trump appointed him in 2017.
But internet access in the U.S. has slowed over
histenure,thoughthere’sdisagreementaboutthe
extenttowhichthecountryis fallingshort.The
FCCreportedinMaythat21.3million people live
in places without access to high-quality broad-
band. Microsoft Corp. conducted a study based
onthespeedsoftheconnectionspeoplewere
usingtoaccessitsservicesanddeterminedthat
about 163 million Americans weren’t using high-
speed internet.
Price is the biggest reason people who don’t
have broadband at home go without, accord-
ing to a 2019 study by the Pew Research Center.
Smartphones are a big factor, too, because many
people now use only those. But some researchers
found that students who rely on smartphones for
homework often fall behind, and applications such
as video chat are bandwidth hogs.
Pai has been sharply critical of FCC efforts to
increase connectivity by subsidizing service forMedianhousehold
income
$40k 50 60 70 80Mississippi MarylandFloridaTe x a s AlaskaNewYork
CaliforniaTheDigitalDivide
Bystate,shareofresidentswhouseinternetatbroadbandspeeds
Under30% 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% Over60%DATA: MICROSOFT, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEYlow-income people, highlightingreportsoffraud
and abuse in the Lifelineprogram,whichgives
people poor enoughtoqualifyforfoodstampsa
$9.25-a-month subsidytowardbroadbandorwire-
less internet service.
In the short term,internetprovidersaresubsi-
dizingcustomers.ComcastCorp.hasincreasedthe
speedonitsInternetEssentialsprogramforlow-
incomecustomersandis offering 60 daysforfree.
Charter CommunicationsInc.’sSpectrumis offer-
ing free service for students.A handfulofbroad-
band and wireless companieshaveliftedthecaps
they normally placeondatausagetoaccountfor
the changing ways peoplewilllikelyusetheser-
vice in the future.
Pai, a former lawyeratVerizonCommunications
Inc., has tried to minimizethegovernment’s
involvement in the broadbandmarket.He’sargued
in court that the commissionhasfarlesslegal
authority to regulatebroadbandthanhisprede-
cessors claimed. As aresult,thechairman“doesn’t
have anything more thanarm-twistingabilityright
now,” says Gigi Sohn,a seniorstafferattheFCC
during the Obama years.TheFCCdidn’trespond
to a request for comment.Ina March 24 blog
post, Pai said he’s “committedtousingeverylegal
means at the FCC’s disposaltohelpAmericansdeal
withthecoronaviruspandemic.”
Since his March 13 request to broadband
providers, as the spreadofCovid-19forcedmore
shutdowns, Pai has focusedonhelpingwireless
providers access additionalspectrumtohandle
increased demand,whilealsolooseningsome
rules around programssuchasE-Ratethatprovidei● The number of
Americans without
broadband access,
according to the FCC21.3m