The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 brings with it a record $1.9 trillion in aid, and it also establishes the Emergency Connectivity Fund and seeds that with nearly $7.2 billion. Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 60 days from March 11, when the Act was enacted, to adopt rules on distributing that funding. Here’s what the Act and the Fund would do:
- The Fund is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC), which also administers the federal E-rate program. But, cautions Joe Morris, vice president of research with the Center for Digital Government*, it’s not the same as E-rate. “While there are some commonalities between the two programs, it is important to remember that the Emergency Connectivity Fund is not E-rate, and it will be its own program with its own rules, regulations and processes,” Morris told Techwire.
- Generally, the Fund will deliver funding and reimbursement for telecommunications and information services and equipment, including Wi-Fi hot spots, modems, routers, modem-routers and connected devices such as laptops and tablets. Eligible schools are defined as elementary and secondary schools, including tribal schools; eligible libraries are defined to include library consortiums.
“These funds can be used in competitive procurements or to reimburse eligible expenses dating back to Jan. 27, 2020,” Morris said, emphasizing that these monies will remain available until Sept. 30, 2030. - The Fund’s larger value is clear, particularly as the pandemic has demonstrated that distance learning is here to stay, said Jon Walton, chief information officer for San Mateo County and a school board trustee for Pacific Grove Unified School District. For residents and students lacking access to the Internet, including those unable to afford a basic cellphone plan, he said, the question becomes whose responsibility it is to provide connectivity, particularly if that lack is not specifically on school grounds.
“Should it be a shared responsibility? Do we look at public Internet access as a niche utility like in the old days of rural electrification?” Walton told Techwire recently. “I think we’re rapidly reaching that point in education where we’re really going to have to think about how to do this as a partnership.” The new technology needs of distance learning have prompted officials in the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) to look closely at digital equity, as they have realized relying on hot spots isn’t always effective, said Santino Danisi, interim chief financial officer for FUSD. In fact, the district is considering creating its own “district Internet that is accessible out into the city,” Danisi told Techwire, indicating the discussion has “progressed fairly far” to include a conversation with the school board. - The FCC still has more than a month before it must adopt rules on distributing money from the Emergency Connectivity Fund — and it is seeking comments on that topic through Monday, and replies to those comments through April 23. Among the issues the FCC is confronting is access for people with special needs, and whether maximum prices should be higher on “eligible equipment” like laptops and tablets if they’re going to be provided to students, school staff and library patrons with disabilities. The FCC is also weighing how to define a connected device “supported” by the Fund — and is considering narrowing that definition to not include smartphones, reasoning that “such devices do not sufficiently allow students, school staff and library patrons to meaningfully participate in remote learning activities and thus do not qualify as ‘similar’ devices under American Rescue Plan.”
