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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has moved to end funding for a program that provides Wi-Fi hotspots on school busses.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is taking steps towards ending the funding of two programs, both of which used E-Rate funds to provide Wi-Fi access for youth.
Earlier this month, Carr’s office announced the circulation of a vote for a declaratory ruling, which would overturn a 2023 decision to fund Wi-Fi hot spots on school busses. Similarly, Carr’s office also said he had also circulated an order to reconsider a 2024 decision that funded the provision of Wi-Fi hotspots to students and library patrons.
“Those FCC decisions spent scarce taxpayer dollars on funding unsupervised screen time for kids without accounting for the significant attendant risks,” the statement from Carr’s office announced.
In comments included with the statement, Carr said the FCC had “failed to demonstrate that these funding decisions would advance legitimate classroom or library purposes.”
He also thanked Sen. Ted Cruz for his efforts in the U.S. Senate to “reverse the harmful impacts of these Biden-era overreaches.”
Comments from the senator were included in the release from Carr’s office.
“I’m pleased that the FCC is moving to protect both taxpayers and parents’ ability to decide what their children can access online,” Sen. Cruz stated. “The Biden FCC hotspot program endangered kids, duplicated existing federal funding, and violated the law.”
‘Cruelty and indifference’
Meanwhile, the FCC’s lone Democratic member lambasted Carr’s announcement.
“Millions of students and seniors depend on hotspots and school bus Wi-Fi for homework and telehealth services,” said FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez. “Now the FCC is moving to strip that connectivity away while doing nothing to make broadband more affordable.”
According to Gomez, Carr’s proposals “will only widen the gap between those with access to modern-day tools and those left behind.”
“We must all fight back against this level of cruelty and indifference by this administration,” she said.
The FCC’s next open commission meeting is listed as Sept. 30, according to the commission’s website.
