Today’s Regulatory Mix: Over $1.2 Billion First Round of Funding to ECF Program, Senators Urge Appointment of Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel
Over $1.2 Billion in First Round of Funding to ECF Program
The FCC announced that it had committed over $1.2 billion from the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program in the first round of funding. Under the ECF Program, schools and libraries can apply for assistance with devices and broadband connectivity needed to support off-campus education needs. “This first round of funding in the Emergency Connectivity Fund will help thousands of schools and libraries across the country provide critical online resources to their students, staff and library patrons,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. A second application filing window will open on September 28 and close on October 13 and will provide funding for eligible equipment and services received or delivered between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Senators Urge Appointment of Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel
25 U.S. Senators have written a letter to the President in support of appointing Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to a full term as Commissioner of the FCC. “After your historic presidential win last year, several of us wrote to you regarding our support for Acting Chair Rosenworcel to become the permanent Chair of the FCC. Since then the Senate passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which includes $65 billion in broadband funding spread across multiple agencies including the FCC. This is on top of the nearly $27 billion that Congress appropriated in emergency relief to address the impacts of COVID-19, much of which is still being implemented. Given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure all people have access to broadband, it is absolutely essential that there are trusted, qualified appointees leading these agencies to coordinate the deployment effort across your administration,” the letter says. “Accordingly, the decision to nominate Acting Chair Rosenworcel to a full term as Commissioner and designate her as the permanent Chair of the FCC can no longer be delayed. We urge your administration to appoint her to this role as quickly as possible. Further delay simply puts at risk the major broadband goals that we share and that Congress has worked hard to advance as part of your administration’s agenda.”
The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.