Transcripts For CSPAN3 Senate Hearing On Broadband Access And Capabilities During Pandemic 20240713

The use of broadband. One estimate shows average Broadband Usage is up by 47 since the pandemic began. Good news is that theres been some progress in connecting all americans. The fcc has recently released broadband deployment report shows us the number of households without Broadband Service continues to decline. Yet despite these advances, there is still significant work that needs to be done to get every american connected. The Current Public Health crisis has made these efforts all the more urgent. I appreciate the initiatives led by the fcc to sustain and accelerate the availability of broadband connections. This includes the keep americans connected pledge, where providers have committed not to terminate Broadband Services to any residential or Small Business customers because of an inability to pay their bills, among other commitments. Along with temporary mod ifbss to existing universal fund usf programs to support the surge in demand for an internet service. These commitments have been done with some inconvenience and cost to those making the pledge, and i appreciate that. The bipartisan c. A. R. E. S. Act provided federal resources to broadbandrelated programs in response to covid19. For example, the fcc received 200 million for a Telehealth Program that is designed to provide immediate assistance to Eligible Health care providers, to support their broadband needs. The c. A. R. E. S. Act provided 13 billion to the department of education to support Distance Learning. These resources can be used to ensure students have access to broadband devices and other equipment to continue their learning from home. Todays hearing is an opportunity to discuss what more can be done to address immediate connectivity needs stemming from the covid19 crisis. Critically efforts to expand Broadband Access accurately identifying unserved areas and communities. Broadband data act will help provide the fcc with more data about where broadband is available, where it is not and at what speeds. Fcc will begin rolling out new and important programs such as the 5g fund. Fcc is currently seeking comment on whether to implement the broadband data act before moving forward with the 5g fund. This program will succeed, however, only if the fcc follows the law. I look forward to working with members of this committee and the Appropriations Committee to ensure that the commission has the funding it needs to implement the broadband data act. There have also been several legislative proposals in both chambers of congress to prioritize the delivery of Broadband Services throughout this outbreak. I hope witnesses will discuss the merits of these proposals and how they will provide immediate relief and connectivity to americans. We also need a Regulatory Framework that fosters investment and promotes broadband deployment. I look forward to discussing how to ensure all levels of government have the appropriate regulatory processes in place to promote rather than create barriers to broadband build out. This includes making sure broadband providers have access to permits in a timely manor to maintain and upgrade their networks, to support increased demand for Internet Services. As more americans rely on their Internet Connections to maintain contact with loved ones, enhancing Network Security and resiliency is also a top priority for this committee. In addition to other initiatives will help keep our network secure and enhance our ability to get americans back to work and expand Broadband Access. Finally, i wish to thank ourf[a countrys Broadband Network providers and technicians for their tireless effort to make sure americans stay contacted during this pandemic. Thank you to all of those individuals. Unlike in other countries, the surge in online traffic and bandwidth consumption in the United States has not diminished Network Performance, nor has it required the slowing of Online Services and applications. Instead, u. S. Providers have been able to meet the growing demand, allowing americans to continue enjoying highquality, Internet Services throughout this pan ddemic, and that is a fine accomplishment. So, i thank the witnesses again for being here and for participating remotely. And with that, i will turn to my dear friend and Ranking Member, senator cantwell for her opening remarks. Senator cantwell . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to our witnesses for appearing today, both in person and virtually to discuss solutions. The covid crisis has made it Crystal Clear, functioning br d broadband is absolutely necessary for every american home. Weve spent a lot of time in this committee over the past several years talking about the persistent Digital Divide and the harms that come to both our economy and society, but we have not done enough to close that divide. And now we are in the middle of a crisis where people who are disconnected from school, work, health care, friends and family need access urgently. Staying connected is as critical as ever. As one of our witnesses will say today, mr. Kimmelman, broadband is essential, but right now its without universal access. Its no wonder that, according to Pew Research Americans consider Broadband Connectivity to be essential in their lives and yet millions of American Families still do not have access to this essential service. The fcc reports that at least 18 million americans lack access to broadband and support the number suspect the number is significantly higher. Millions of americans have Internet Connections that can support essential applications and software for remote learning, but there are many who cannot. And the glaring disparities between those who cannot now afford to deliver those services into the home because of cost is also something this committee should consider. That is why we must address our shortterm Emergency Needs and also invest in closing the Digital Divide. To put it into perspective, the pew research nationally showed 30 of households with schoolage children and income below 30,000 do not have access to high speed alcohols at home. And schoolage children in hispanic homes do not have access to highSpeed Internet at home. In the state of washington more than twothirds of our School Districts responded to a recent survey showing that some of the families could just simply not afford Broadband Services. Statewide, 16 of families with children have no access to broadband and Spokane School district recently did a survey of 34 different schools and found varying degrees of connectivity and concerns by teachers about who could fully engage in Distance Learning. Thats why i want to thank senator markey for his tireless efforts to close the gap. Im proud to be a cosponsor of legislation that he has for emergency fcc erate funding to address this need and try to close the gap and also covid has demonstrated the importance of health care during this crisis. Covid19 has changed the Health Care Delivery system, primary care physicians are closing their offices around the country to inpatient care. People are afraid to go to the hospital to seek out necessary care because of the infection. So, telehealth has become the best way to protect the public during the covid crisis, and clinics in my state have transitioned to using telehealth as the First Contact with each patient. In fact, some clinics in my state report around 90 of their initial contacts with patients now occur online. That is why its so important to make sure that people have access to broadband if our Health Care Delivery system in initial contacts are going to move in that direction. The cdc recommends that Health Clinics throughout the country use remote contact with patients as their first line of defense for covid19. But that only works if those clinics and those patients have broadband. A recent brookings report cited the lack of broadband or insufficient Broadband Service to support remote diagnostics as a key barrier to widespread use of telehealth. So i want to, again, thank some of our colleagues, senator schotz, who has been leading the charge to support the next covid round of packages and we need to make sure that these services are widely available, allowing patients to access the care they need. The added benefit for doctors is they can actually care for more patients in a day, take the pressure off of their colleagues who are dealing with the covid crisis. So, broadband also can help with the understanding of covid19. The fcc is already compared Health Outcomes like diabetes with broadband availability. And i want to thank senator rosen for her work, pressing the fcc to study additional issues like maternal Health Outcomes and other issues related to broadband availability. And lastly, mr. Chairman, i wanted to bring up Indian Country. This represents a nearly 27 point gap in nontribal to tribal areas when it comes to Broadband Access. This gap only widens, according to a report by the fcc, that when 31 of households on tribal land lack access to highSpeed Broadband compared to 7 in nontribal areas. So, i want to thank my colleagues, senator tester for their continuing work to deliver broad band to Indian Country. Its clear we have to make sure that new tools are put in place to make up for the shortfalls we currently see. Broadband activity can be a great equalizer in this country. But if access is not there, then we can see right here and now during the covid crisis the challenges to our education system, our Health Care System and just basic contact with family and loved ones. So i look forward to hearing from the witnesses today, and what we can do to close this map immediately. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator cantwell. Well begin our testimony with accepting the full statements from all four of our witnesses. Theyll be included in their entirety in the record at this point. Well ask each witness to summarize his or her testimony in approximately five minutes, beginning with mr. Steven barry. Mr. Barry, you are recognized. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Is this can you hear . Is this on . Okay. Chairman wicker, Ranking Member cantwell, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify about how competitive carriers have gone above and beyond to keep americans connected during the covid19 pandemic. Cca is the nations leading association for wireless providers. Our members range from small, rural carriers serving less than 5,000 customers to regional and nationwide providers serving millions of customers. Im proud of how cca members have work to maintain connectivity in the face of Unprecedented Demand for telecommunication services. Across every aspect of daytoday life as economic, educational, health and social connections move online to stay connected, while staying apart. Use is up significantly. One cca member reported Educational App usage up nearly 150 . Despite the increase in Network Usage, i can report that competitive carriers have proven to be up to the task and have taken extraordinary measures to maintain connectivity. Fcc to help carriers temporarily tap into a pool of spectrum to meet these demands. I hope this experience will encourage additional innovative uses of spectrum partitioning going forward. Networks cannot function without the men and women who work every day to preserve and expand Broadband Services. It is imperative to keep these professionals safe and healthy, to maintain connectivity for all. And they must have reliable access to help their customers. Many cca members signed on to the fccs keep america connected pledge to waive late fees and maintain service. Whether signatories to the pledge or not, cca members of all sizes are helping their communities stay connected by offering billing credits, adding Additional Data capacity, standing up new science to provide service for educational use, and even working with local Health Centers to develop triage applications. After all, cca members have been a vital part of their communities for years. And thats just what you do for your friends and neighbors. These efforts come at no immediate cost to consumers, but can draw significant resources from the carriers providing these services. To be candid, carriers, especially small carriers, are experiencing many of the same economic challenges as every Small Business. As the National Emergency continues, consumers may accrue significant balances on accounts for communication services. To assist these consumers, kr cca supports the stay connected voucher proposal. The stay connected voucher is the missing element to help consumers remain connected without later facing bill shock and undue hardships. Its the Technology Neutral approach that empowers consumers by giving them the ability to determine which services are most important during these difficult times. And, importantly, it builds on Congress Work in the c. A. R. E. S. Act itself and would not require new eligibility or verification processes. The pandemic has underscored the significant disconnect experienced between those on the wrong side of the Digital Divide. To bridge this divide, policymakers must focus on updating our nations mobile broadband coverage maps. Icon dprat late chairman wicker and this committee for your work to enact the bipartisan broadband data act. The fcc should begin immediately to implement the mobile provisions of the law as directed by congress and use newly collected data to guide the proposed 9 billion 5g program. Finally, our Networks Must be secure. Thank you for your efforts to create the secure and trusted Communication Networks reimbursement program. We join with chairman pi in urging congress to fully fund this program to provide carriers with the resources necessary to maintain connectivity for the customers while complying with the National Security directives. A lack of funding is huge. Its a huge impediment to achieving this priority. As our nation shifts from relief to recovery, all americans are facing challenging times, but its very clear, connectivity is critical, especially in Rural America and cca stands ready to work with you and thank you for the opportunity to testify. And i welcome your questions. Thank you very much, mr. Berry. Next, the committee will hear from ms. Shirley bloomfield, chief executive officer mtca, the Rural Broadband association. This is a big room and youre clear down at the other end. So if all of us could speak directly into the microphones, it would help folks like me. Excellent. Chairman wicker, Ranking Member cantwell, members of the committee, we are delighted to be able to testify here before you today. Im shirley bloomfield, ceo of the Rural Broadband association, we represent 850 communitybased carriers across the country, small broadband providers as well as Small Businesses in 45 states. The pandemic has highlighted more than ever that robust and reliable broadband is essential for everyday life. Even in this time of crisis, the stories of selflessness and creative acts by mtc members serve to me as a constant reminder when the going gets tough, the tough get innovating. Thanks to their commitment, entrepreneurial spirit and their support of this committee as well as agencies like the fcc and rus, communitybased providers were well prepared to keep americans connected during a crisis. Ntca members have led the charge in building futureproof Broadband Networks for years with over 60 of the customers having access to connectivity in speeds in excess of 100 megabits. More than half of the signers of the fccs chairman pledge to keep americans connected are ntca members. And so many have gone above and beyond that pledge in terms of keeping their families, friends and their neighbors connected. Smart Rural Community carriers from big bend in texas, expanding their network, School Administrators to connect over 100 students in three days and bump up all their consumers to the next tier service for free, amtc in north carolina, who immediately offered broadband at no cost to households with students, including College Students who previously had no connectivity. And then theres the hundreds and hundreds of hot spots, wifi connectivity that had been rolled out in these communities and thats just a tiny sampling of what ntca members are doing to help ensure that Rural Communities are able to navigate during this pandemic. Despite pandemic theyre holding fast to plans to continue to deploy new broad band, the infrastructure they planned to roll out already. Challenges certainly persist. Ntca providers are doing everything they can to keep everybodys internet lights on. They need to keep their own lights on. Increasing number of customers are becoming unable to pay for service and members are concerned about their ability to repay loans and purchase critical supplies like routers, fiber, backbone access to the internet and, of course, they have to pay their own employees as well. None of these costs are things they can simply barter away or igno ignore. Speaking of employees, sourcing personal protective equipment continues to be a struggle. Its critical for our members to obtain access to masks, disinfectant wipes, gloves and hand sanitizers, especially if anybody wants to reopen the economy. Concerns about delays in the supply chain for equipment could also hinder deployment plans later this year. When it comes to the Paycheck Protection Program, while this Program Offers helpful promise, theres still confusion among stakeholders on whether certain kinds of Small Businesses, such as cooperative, actually even qualify. To help with some of these challenges, ntca recommends Congress Review the challenges ahead as a mix of nearterm and longerterm solutions. Near term, we need to make sure those who are not currently connected get connected. And also to make sure those who are connected can stay connected. We applaud the fcc for quick action to make its programs more accessible to those in need and expanded emergency broadband benefits for consumers in distress will certainly help. But these steps aloneujwill not keep every american connected. We, therefore, also encourage congress to pass the keeping critical connections act, introduced by senators klobuchar and cramer, 30 senate cosponsors, including nine members of this committee, would create a temporary Emergency Fund to keep americans connected during the pandemic. In the longer term, congress should adopt a forever connected perspective when it comes to promoting broadband. From the alaskan bush to the mississippi delta, no american should get secondclass Broadband Service or, worse yet, no service at all. Ntca appreciates the broadband infrastructures ideas being put forth we believe to instead leverage the existing broadband programs that have been improved upon as time has gone on. Ntca recommends five simple principles to guide a forever connected approach. First, leverage existing broadband programs to get the most immediate return on investment, while also avoiding confusion and potential interagency conflicts. Second, prevent duplication of scarce federal resources by requiring all agencies to strictly coordinate use of their programs. Three, require all agencies to use updated broadband maps and meaningful challenge processes to ensure that unserved areas are accurately identified and served. Four, invest in technology that can be easily upgraded to deliver the fastest speeds over the longterm life of the asset. We certainly wouldnt use our Highway Program to create a twolane road when we know an eightlane highway is what is going to be needed five to ten years down the road. We should approach broadband infrastructure the same way. Remember on number five, any program must focus on building the Broadband Network itself but sustaining that network over time once its actually been built. Were all in this together in the Work Congress is doing will be essential to see us through this crisis, and Lasting Impact for generations to come. Thank you so much for the opportunity to join you today. And i look forward to your questions. Thank you, miss bloomfield. Let me say at this point, as one of the ones who met late into the night, developing the c. A. R. E. S. Act, i see no reason why a 501c12 nonprofit cooperative who otherwise is qualified should be prohibited from participating in the Paycheck Protection Program and i have urged treasury to make that decision clear. And i hope we get a positive answer very, very soon. I thank the committee for indulging me there. Now mr. Kimmelman, Senior Adviser to public knowledge, joins us remotely. Mr. Kimmehlman, were delighted to have you and take this opportunity to thank the technicians who made this possible. Yes. Thank you, mr. Chairman, ms. Cantwell and members of the committee, i appreciate this invitation to testify this morning. Wow, think of the gut punch that this virus has delivered to all of us. Its really demonstrated how dependent we are on a highquality, fast speed capability broadband. If we could hold up for a moment and restore the audio. We were doing so well. Our jobs, most of us need this service. The education of our children is now fully dependent on highSpeed Broadband, getting food and supplies, the delivery of health care, as senator cantwell mentioned. Broadband has just become the true lifeline to our functioning today. So, just imagine, just imagine what its like to be among the 42 million americans who dont have access, access to the wired broadband to deliver that kind of connectivity, or the 26 of Rural Americans who cant get fast enough broadband, the more than 50 of people on rural tribal lands who lack wire line broadband, the 12 million plus students who lack access to internet at home, and the millions, millions of lowincome households, many of them elderly, almost 40 of black and latinx households who just cant afford a high price of broadband. Yes, were all struggling, but these people are virtually helpless. And they need attention immediately. Unfortunately, the fcc has abandoned its most effective tools for overseeing broadband, and some of this pain these havenots are experiencing could have been mitigated. We appreciate the industrys voluntary efforts to provide assistance to those in need. Its truly helpful. Were extremely appreciative of congress for coming together in a bipartisan way to provide some Critical Resources for individuals, Small Businesses and those who have lost their job. And we hope its that sentiment, discarding ideological differences to unite for the good of our country that will continue. First, we urge you to commit as many resources and to address all broadband needs during this emergency, given how essential highSpeed Internet is to daily life. From lifeline to the Erate Program, to expanding deployment telehealth all need resources. We particularly appreciate fcc Commission Commission commissioner rose leadership in an effort to help kids who cant do their homework due to a lack of broadband. We need to fix that and all of these other affordability problems. Most importantly, mr. Chairman, we need a longterm solution to bridge the Digital Divide. Broadband has become not just essential to individuals and households, it is fundamentally intertwined with many of our most important societal needs. Its critical any path forward out of this crisis to jumpstart our economy, were going to need full access to the internet for as many people as possible, to educate our kids, keep families and relationships going and healthy and supported. We all need highSpeed Internet. To practice our social distancing, to do our jobs, to avoid unnecessary travel, we all need the internet. And to support our democracy, we need a local journalism that can clean up the disinformation, the falsehoods that are flowing on the internet in order to make sure we can tell fact from fiction. Lets extend the bipartisan spirit that youve shown in the most recent legislation to a commitment to reliable, affordable, universally highquality broadband for all americans, to help speed up this recovery and move us to a path back to normalcy. Thank you so much, mr. Chairman. Thank you very, very much, mr. Kimmehlman. We now turn to mr. Jonathan spalter, president and coo of the u. S. Telecom. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I am jonathan spalter. I dont think ive ever been more proud to be the president and ceo of u. S. Telecom. Whats required during these Uncertain Times to keep our citizens connected, and im really grateful to have this opportunity. I have to tell you, we dont have to go very far to tell this story. In fact, if we were to walk out this building on constitutional avenue, go a mile and a half on massachusetts avenue we would get to the Washington Convention center. There, you would find not outoftown visitors but the army corps of engineer, medstar, d. C. Government and u. S. Telecom members smart city working side by side in 12hour shifts, in harms way to convert that Convention Center into a worldclass emergency field hospital. You know, smart city teams are doing this exact same work in 17 different Convention Centers across the country with another dozen or so teams on standby, just in case their communities need to ramp up at the last moment Emergency Services quickly. And here is the bottom line. These active teams are operating at an 85 loss. And the standby teams are at a total loss with no guarantee of cost recovery. I asked smart city board member marty ruben, also on our board of directors, why do you do it . His answer was, there was never any question. These are our communities. You know, this is the story of all our Member Companies at u. S. Telecom, whether its at ts, just one instance, 10 million distant learning and Family Connections Fund or big ben telephone led by u. S. Telecom chair rusty moore in alpine, texas, allocating unused Broadband Services and redirecting them into the homes of students and families in need to ensure that they can continue to learn at home in west texas, to verizons 55 million, so far, contribution to push back against the global covid19 crisis. Centurylink donating its time and equipment to wire the u. S. Navy hospital ship mercy in a mere 48 hours in its new home port of the port of los angeles. You know, our companies have always gone above and beyond to serve our community, pledge or no pledge, and never do we stand taller than in a time of crisis. And the same can be said of our networks. You know, among the ten largest countries in the world, the u. S. Is the only nation that recorded no substantial degradation in terms of speed last month in april. Unlike countries that took a more heavily regulated path to broadband infrastructure, which has led to significant underinvestment in their networkss capacity and performance. As the world shuts down, the u. S. Internet remains open. Weve demonstrated that americans can count on their network if they are connected to it. So, where do we go from here to close the Digital Divide . Decisively. We must pursue with tremendous urgency, mr. Chairman, a permanent fix to universal service, one that puts the Digital Divide in the rear view of our nation, once and for all. We need to evaluate carefully what the costs would be, the speeds, the capacity and the timelines. We also need to be Crystal Clear about the underlying principles that will steer our Public Private partnership forward to get the job done. Im committing today that we will work with you to do this, and were ready to start now. U. S. Telecom delivered to the fcc last year a blueprint for broadband maps that can identify with pinpoint accuracy every home and business that remains unserved in our nation. Congress green lighted this approach and thank you for that. Now, we need it funded. From there, we get to work. We should rely on programs we know have been stress tested and not waste money or time on unproven experiments. We should commit the resources required, both private and public, and move forward with determination. Ill conclude with the words of my board member, marty ruben, at the beginning. There is no question what is the right thing to do. But history look back on our service, yours as lawmakers and ours on the front line of an essential industry, and say, there was never any question that every american should be connected. If not now, when . And if not us, who . Thank you. Thank you, all. And we have votes beginning at noon. Its now 10 36. Lets agree were going to strictly enforce the fiveminute rule. That doesnt mean getting all of your question in, in five minutes. Its the question and answer in five minutes, and ill be using the gavel to try to give us all a chance to do that. Mr. Spalter, you were talking about the broadband data act just now. And you said it needs to be funded. How much is that going to cost, in your estimation . And how important is that . Well, thank you for the question. Also, thank you again for your support of that very important legislation. Were freiggrateful for it. We expect we undertook pilot studies and have been able to model we think we can actually scale and get the National Maps done at a cost of about 25 million, give or take, with annual plusups to maintain the mapping exercises going forward. We think we can also do it, now that weve actually undertook that important spade work in modeling these maps, we think we can actually get and deploy nationally these maps in a matter of months. I sure hope so. Lets move on. And i began in my testimony talking about the fact that weve seen Internet Usage increase by as much as 47 since the pandemic began. I made the statement that our networks are performing and responding well to this dramatic increase in usage. Lets just ask all four of you to comment on this. Have i got it right . And if were doing better, why is that . Ill jump in, mr. Chairman. Good. Well do you and then well go back to mr. Berry and the rest of the panel. Perfect. Weve definitely seen an increase in the utilization of our networks up to 40 . The interesting thing is we focus so much on download speeds. What were seeing is that the uploads speeds is also that need for upload is increasing as well. Where folks, particularly because were using so much twoway communications. So, you know, i think that its going to be important to continue to build these futureproof networks. That is why these networks, even though were seeing the length of the time of the Network Usage expand to fill the day because people are working from home, students are taking classes from home. Youre not seeing that peak time when people are streaming videos at night to relax. Youre seeing a longer, heavier use of that network. Its upload and download speeds. Thats why were so bullish about the fact that you all have supported fiber investment. That is allowing these networks to sustain that access. Are we doing well on the uploads and the downloads . Thats the beauty of fiber. Mr. Berry . Thank you, mr. Chairman. If you could, get close to the microphone. Okay. Is that good . Good. All right. Thank you. Wireless is a little different in the sense that our networks are resilient, because many of them are self contained. Especially in the rural areas. They build a network so that it would be the network that they would like to utilize. They build in the possibility of innovation. They build in the possibility of competing with other carriers in the network. I think youll see in the United States fiber and wireless, they build to connect with other networks that have a very highquality set of standards so you know what youre getting when youre connecting with the network. Theres some resiliency in multiple access to the network. So, we not only have a wire line capability, we have wireless, fixed wireless. We have back haul that can be provided by Cable Companies as well as wire line and many of the Wireless Companies using microwaves. So we have a variety of opportunities to modify and provide diversity in the network itself. And then one of the things that shirley mentioned is entrepreneurial spirit, theres this idea that they can build a Better Network and attract more customers and keep them because they provide better service. Okay. And the smaller carriers have been doing that for 25, 30 years. Good. Weve got a minute now to squeeze mr. Spalter and mr. Kimmehlman in on this topic. Mr. Spalter . Sure. Ill be very quick. We are monitoring carefully Network Performance and network capacity. We publish these data on this website. Are we doing better than other countries . We are, in fact. Why is that . One of the direct reasons, sir, is because we have made the ability to have a policy framework that allows and incentivizes Network Investment by our sector of upwards of 70 billion annually, this lighttouch, flexible, forwardlooking approach has given us the ability to keep a new normal performance during times of surge and emergency, and its the key ingredient thats going to keep this success going. Okay. Mr. Kimmehlman . Thank you, mr. Chairman. I certainly hope these companies are doing that kind of performance or that focus, but ill just ask your constituents, people in Rural America have all kinds of problems getting connected, keeping speeds up. People in intercities have some of the same problems. Were hearing it, i would say your constituents can better answer that question. I really appreciate you saying all the companies and fcc to get the maps done and the service improved. Theres gaps and holes and i hope the companies are on it. Thank you very much. Senator cantwell . Thank you. Mr. Kimmehlman, were hearing you loud and clear, by the way. I wanted to ask you, your testimony i think you have a longer version of it that cited many issues, but particularly your calling for a comprehensive legislative package that goes beyond shortterm measures, and i couldnt agree with you more. I think the witnesses have outlined why this is so critical. The question is, how do we what are the solutions . So you mentioned a couple of things in your testimony, more competition, some reliance on municipal entities. You bring up both something creative that West Virginia did in working with their communities and then, obviously, this horrific example that you have of the county, one of the hardesthit covid spots. I think it is the hardest hit westmost county in washington where 30 of students do not have access to Internet Services. So, what one or two things should we be doing now to try to address this in a more comprehensive way . And im intrigued by your statement about the press and the delivery of information, too. You know, we have been pushing to have the next ppp coverage, make sure that broadcasters and news entities also can apply, because weve had weve lost tens of thousands, if not more, jobs from broadcasters and i want the local information to be there. If you have any ideas, what we should be doing there, i would like to hear them. What one or two things should we be doing on broadband now to be more comprehensive than the current programs we have . You just have to, first of all, expand lifeline erate, money to telehealth. Youre already taking some of these initiatives. Thats the stop gap to get us over, to update the universal service fund. We need broader contributions. The broader players in the broad band Service Ecosystem is going to take a lot more money. The infrastructure is expensive. Thats why we call it group sharing. Oversight and competition is critical. We know we wont be regulate in everything here. Theres a variety of ways to let communities participate more, open the door to more competition. Dont let states block competition in broadband. And on the democracy front, what weve learned is that as we rely on broadband, the way in which we get that critical local news of information from broadcasters and newspapers increasingly depends on internet delivery. And in the digital marketplace were seeing a flow of advertising revenue diminish most dramatically for newspapers, it will come from broadcasting as well. We need a new Business Model there. I believe what were seeing with the explosion of the internet is with all the good information, theres a lot of pollution. And that bad information, misinformation, falsehood about the virus and more broadly is dangerous to our democracy. I believe you need a Specialized Fund like the super fund was for toxic waste cleanup. Lets get information cleanup and lets get it resourced to support news gathering, fact checking, help people navigate their way to get around disinformation and falsehoods. So ive called for a comprehensive program. Its time to update the law and address all of this together, because all of these issues are intertwined. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator cantwell. Senator blunt . Thank you, chairman. Great to be with you and be part of this hearing. And so one of the hearings weve done in the last few days using a technology we hadnt used before, where some of us are in the hearing room and some of us are not. Some of the witnesses are in the hearing room, others are somewhere else. I think what weve seen in the last several weeks is a huge leap forward, and peoples willingness to not only use technology but a greater understanding of our dependence on that technology. Really, im going to try to focus on a couple of questions here quickly. One is, what if you dont have even the possibility of alcohols to broadband, like too many Rural Americans dont have. And the other would be what if you have access but cant afford it . Lets go first to the first question on access. Miss bloomfield, and anybody who wants to answer this question for the record certainly could. Would there be merit to the Congress Beginning to set some deadlines of our own on how quickly these auctions and distributions need to occur . I know theres some discussion now of moving the september deadline forward, but even if that was if all we did was make the september deadline mandatory, would it be helpful or not to have a more clear understanding of when these things were going to happen . Thank you, senator. Actually, i think the fcc has done a very good job as they prepare for the rural Digital Opportunity fund, the auction i believe youre referring to, which will be the next tronch of figuring out where those unserved americans are, and committing 16 billion over the next ten years to connect those folks. I think i actually think theyre on track to begin the process in october, which i think given that we really want to make sure that we know where those who are served, underserved and those who are served exist. I think the ability to start some of the mapping initiatives that hopefully can also get support, i think this puts us in a good timeframe. The thing that i would be loath to see is that kind of effort delayed. I think were on track, need to start moving quickly and we need to unify the artoff program as well as the reconnect program working in concert, those programs can do some significant good. I hope thats right. I believe thats right. And i think all of us believe that we cant continue to delay much longer. I think the fcc has moved forward in good faith here, but we might, at some point, decide that there have to be even more parameters on when those things have to occur. On the other topic of access, but no affordability, mr. Berry, would you talk a little bit about what we might do to help people get access to this effort that could be telemedicine . It certainly has been teleeducation for most americans who are in elementary and secondary school, and even college for the last several months. Could we be doing more to help people afford to be to be part f that process . Thank you, senator. Yes. I truly believe so. I think that the Erate Program that he mentioned, i think senator marky has a bill that would actually encourage filling some of the gaps on the educational side. And we need a rollout of Broadband Services that include fiber and wireless. Many times the Wireless Connection may be the fastest opportunity to connect and especially in the areas that are not connected. But i cant say enough that we have to find where those places are. You need the broadband data act that you passed in this committee and we need to get on with where are those holes . Where are those needs and then lets find the money to fill those gaps. And i would suggest that Gene Kimmelman is absolutely right. We need contribution reform under the usf program. You can no longer sustain enhanced spending on broadband activities if youre basing that on a revenue from a Long Distance wireline declining fund. And when the cost gets up to 25 of your bill because youre making contributions to usf, youre pushing the envelope. We need more broadband in the areas that are either underserveded or not connected. I think with he need to find those places first. Thank goodness this committee did. That and now we need to get on with the business of what is the resource retirement to actually get it done . Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Well done, senator blunt. And now with he month of to senator klobuchar. You are recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you to you and senator. I want to note, thank you to senator blunt for the work weve done together to make the remote hearings a reality through the rules committee. I wanted to start with the disparity that were seeing that i thought senator cantwell did such a good job going through the statistics in a state that is home to so many Great Technology companies and you see this not just in Washington State but all over the country where kids are now being asked to learn from home and parents who are asked to teach them the disparity when they dont even have access to internet. We have this story out of minnesota where one of our tribal communities when someone got internet there in one household, high speed was able to pay for it, all the kids gathered in the front yard to do their home work. We just cant have that continue into the summer and into the rest of the year. So my first question of you, ms. Bloomfield, you mentioned the bill with senator cramer. We have 28 cosponsors including eight members of the committee. A number of republicans and democrats on this bill which allows our smaller providers to keep providing service because the last thing we want to do in rural areas right now is to cut off service. Can you briefly describe why that is so important . Absolutely. Thank you for your leadership, senator klobuchar, on this legislation. Im proud to say were up to 30 members of the senate and nine on the committee. This bill is really important because what it does is it basically allows the spirit of the pledge at the fcc to continue which is that people will not be cut off of Critical Service right now because of Economic Hardship due to covid19. And students will be connected. So what the bill does is basically allows companies to make that delta up between what customers can not afford to pay anymore and to continue to keep that service up at that level or even a higher level. So it is you think about it as essential services. I think about the analogies of the Grocery Store or newspapers. Theyre essential right now, right . But you cant expect the doors of the stores to be open 24 7 and people take things off the shelf and expect them to continue to operate. Youve got to be able to continue to support the support of the network. The ability for the technicians to connect the schoolchildren. To upgrade the speeds for those would are now working from home. So the bill actually helps create that fills that delta in what people cannot afford to pay any longer. That in conjunction potentially with a Life Line Program is powerful at this point in time. But that support is so essential. If were really going to say that Broadband Connectivity is what we need, the support through that legislation is going to be absolutely necessary to ensure these Network Providers can continue to operate and keep people connected. Thank you very much. Mr. Kimmelman, good to see you out of the antitrust setting here today. And i want to talk to you about something we havent focused as much on and that is all the people in assisted living who are no longer able to see their loved ones except for chile. Its a very, very lonely existence. And also we all know also a scary existence right now. And we sadly lost so many people who are seniors. In your testimony you highlight how many Older Americans cant connect with their friends and their families. Senator casey and i are leading the access act to expand telehealth to facilitate virtual visits. Can you talk briefly about this . We also support your other bill with senator cramer. We think its essential for the companies to be there in order for consumers to even have the access to broadband. So obviously this crisis has shown us that we cant communicate, we cant keep up with our families and those particularly who have special needs like those in assisted living who are fully dependent on high Speed Internet connection to just interact with them. To just get some sense of how their life is going, what they need from us what we can do for them to keep people working their way through this and trying to deal with the struggles of the dangers of this pandemic. So its just become Crystal Clear that telehealth is fundamental to Health Care Delivery. We need to build that into the system. Thank you. And i can ask you this on the record, but as you know, were working on the Life Line Program with, as you noted, only 40 of households eligible for life line have actually subscribed and thats something that we want to continue to focus on. And then finally, just this week we put out the connectivity for Higher Education students in need act. With senators peters and rosen of the committee to create a fund to help some of our College Students who are having the same problem that high school and elementary have and as we know a lot of our students of color are having incredible problems accessing and here they are, work so hard to get into college and now theyre unable to compete and to be part of that college experience. F. They don if they dont have the internet. Ten seconds on that. Thank you, senator. These are all critical needs that are intertwined. You just remind me that the first life line bill i worked on was sponsored by senator heinz a long, long time ago. I hope we can continue to make sure our affordability is there for everyone. Thank you very much. Senator klobuchar and senator blunt, i want to thank you for your leadership on the rules committee in helping to make the technology possible and smooth the way for a really different day and approach in being able to hold these hearings remotely. Senator fisher, youre recognized. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Weve heard from some of my other colleagues about really the challenges that our students are facing right now when it comes to trying to work at home and being dependent upon their digital connections. And for those who dont have that access, it is it is not just the effects of pandemic that is stressing but also the Ripple Effect out and how this is affecting their lives not having that. We all know that expanding broadband takes time. It takes investment. But i would like to begin with you, mr. Spalter and ask if you have any ideas on any kind of short term strategies that we can look at for this connectivity that can support the students that are home right now and trying to maintain and grow in a different environment with regard to their education . Well, thank you for that question, senator. And i think that we are already seeing extraordinary voluntary steps being taken by providers large, regional and local. Including right in your state, Companies Like great plains that have been extending wifi hot spots and upgrades to families that have students in need to move forward. But its not just them. Its hamilton and sod town and century link and frontier and others that are doing exactly this kind of work in your state and across the country. I wrote a letter to the fcc commissioners at the very outset of this crisis saying we needed to move very rapidly to establish Emergency Funding programs akin to life line, akin to erate, to be able to accelerate our ability to good Broadband Service to our communities that are in need particularly our learners in home environment. And we have to be innovative not only the government side but continue the innovation that all companies are showing on the ground, supporting their communities and their students. When we look at partnerships, we talk about Public Private partnerships. This is such an important move for the day thats were looking at right now. Having schools being able to partner not just with other Government Entities, not just looking for funding in trying to move forward, but to be able to partner with small companies. Mr. Spalter mentioned so many that we have in nebraska that step forward. What else can we do to encourage that partnership to encourage interested parties to be able to reach out and honestly just move us forward at a quicker pace . You know, i mentioned how long it takes to get anything built out when it comes to infrastructure. How are we going to do this in a timely manner and be ready for not just the far distant future but how are we going to be ready in another month or two . And not only that, senator, but i think with he start to look and say whats going to happen in the fall . You no he . We you know . We need to be ready. This is not just a two month blip. We have to be ready to continue this education at home. I think the point among partnerships is so important. One thing that, you know, my companies have the advantage and that theyre Community Based. I still think Everybody Needs that, a little bit of a push to say talk to your local health clinic. Talk to your school superintendents. When we saw folks kick into action really fast, its those that had the really tight relationships that knew they could say who in your School District doesnt have broadband . Who do we need to reach out to to connect . Who do we need to bring broadband in a box to the door to get them up and running . And i would say the same with telehealth. I think right now were not seeing a lot of that money from the fcc going to small clinics. Lets get the critical conversations going. They need that connectivity just as much as an urban area does and getting the carriers, getting the public officials, having those conversations and maybe even, you know, having folks like you go back home and facilitate some of those will help kick some of that off. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. If i may, senator fisher, one of the things that is not normally known is that there are impediments in the programs that sometimes keep carriers from actually reaching out and doing that. I mean, the fcc was pretty good at lifting some of the requirements for donations. We have carrier thats have given them wifi slots. And tablets to members i mean to children that they couldnt have given before. And thats been very much appreciated. Maybe its something we should think about going forward. Thank you, thank you. We can talk later about that. My time has expired. Thank you. Thank you very much. Im told that senator udal is next. Thank you. Thank you, chairman and Ranking Member. Great to be here with you today. Todays hearing is titled the state of broadband amid the covid19 pandemic. The state of broadband throughout the country depends on where you live. If youre located in Indian Country, the state of broadband is unacceptable. And im glad that senator klobuchar raised this issue as far as the minnesota tribes and tribes across the nation. Prior to covid19, tribal communities were significantly behind much of the nation in terms of access to affordable Broadband Service. Sadly, the pandemic has only exacerbated this. Our tribal communities grapple with covid19 response. They must simultaneously adjust to an increasingly broadband reliant society. Now more than ever, Broadband Service is critical. Telemedicine, to online education, and to teleworking. My bill, bridging the tribal Digital Divide act sought to update existing authorities to rapidly address this inequity. One provision of my bill created a tribal set aside under the universal Services Fund similar to what the fcc did under the tribal mobility fund. This is a question to all the panelists here. What should congress and the fcc do in order to bridge the tribal Digital Divide and do you support further set asides under the universal service fund for tribal communities . Let me begin, senator. Good to see you again even if its virtually. I would be very happy to take a very close look at the tribal Digital Divide act that you and senators cantwell and gardiner put forward. Our industry is doing its best to work closely and in close coordination with the nativeamerican community and continued to work closely with them. I know that senator cantwell worked with centurylink to identify just, for example, the Olympic Peninsula occupied by the maca tribe there and a coast guard station is very much in need of Broadband Service. And so altered their own buildout plans to ensure service was available in washington. Recently the Navajo Nation leadership worked to expedite permitting and rights of way issues impeding the Speedy Delivery of broadband to navajo lands in arizona, utah and new mexico. Frontier communications working with them getting this permitting streamlining done. Now is able to actually deliver broadband to those communities that are being hit most hard by covid19. There is a number of steps and theres a number of points of light ahead. I really look forward to evaluating your legislation in the days ahead. Thank you. And senator, i would just say obviously tribal lands have unique challenges. We would also be really interested in your legislation. We have a number of tribal communication companies. I would go back to the points that has been made about contribution reform being so important. There are so many different needs that we have to use that support in ways to bridge some of the divides. The other thing i would end with is take a look at what sacred swind doi wind is doing in your state. Theyre doing amaze things. Theyre bringing remote Broadband Access to folks on the reservation and doing amaze things. Im really proud of the work theyre doing. And same here, senator. I think the tribal lands have long been overlooked. We have several members that actually service tribal lands. Good example is atni in new mexico and arizona applied for the stas, the special temporary authority permits to increase access to spectrum. And they were able to turn up 54 sites, doubling capacity, literally in a weeks time. Five to six days in the very tribal lands that, you know, that we care so much about about serving more. I think some of those lessons that were learning now and spectrum partitionment should be explored as we move from relief to a more normal process. So we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with you on your legislation. I think its a very much needed initiative. Thank you. Senator, we fully support your legislation. We think its critical. We appreciate your leadership along with senator cantwells in highlighting this important inequity. And i believe we should immediately be pushing the fcc to use its Life Line Program and Erate Program to make more Resources Available for tribal lands. Thank you. Yield back, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Weve seen, as we noted earlier, we do our jobs and stay connected to families and friends and reliable Internet Connectivity and ensuring all parts of the country have reliable access is critical. Without access to these services, we wouldnt have students continuing their education through Distance Learning. Many parts of the countrys workforce wouldnt be able to telework and wouldnt be able to provide telehealth services. Throughout the covid19, ive been encouraged by mobile and fixed Broadband Networks in the United States. Carriers by and large are meeting consumers demands and even with the unprecedented amount of traffic on the networks, they stepped up and kept us connected. This is different from what were seeing in other parts of the world. Take europe, for example, pursued a more heavy handed regulatory approach to Broadband Services. This resulted in far less investment and Communications Network expansion and now today were seeing the Network Struggle to keep up with the increased demands. Because the light touch approach to broadband regulation by the federal government of the United States, weve seen access to these Critical Services expand significantly to the most rural areas of country. If we want the internet to continue and thrive, we should encourage more investment in the private sector. Can you just talk about what impact the current u. S. Broadband regulatory climate had on broadband investment especially in rural areas and you would expect it would be more heavily regulated . I think the ability to have expanded Broadband Access awith work still to be done is a direct result and no accident to the exactly that light touch, flexible, forward looking and i many you stress this bipartisan approach that has been the hallmark of American Innovation policy for fully a generation. The reason that american Broadband Companies can invest upwards of 70 billion annually in our nations infrastructure to bring broadband, best in the world broadband to our citizens is directly related to that policy framework. If we want to continue the runway for this kind of progress as we transit to new generations of service and to fundamentally do the important work of closing the Digital Divide that, framework is a critical input and without it were going to regress, not progress. Mr. Berry, you referenced that in your testimony as well. Can you expand on how they will effect carriers one the pandemic is over, especially as we think about transitioning to 5g technologies . Your streamline siting act is something we very much support. We appreciate the effort you and senator shots have been stellar in your effort on that. I think that is going to help us advance 5g, not only 4g, lte and 5g as we move forward. Were seeing a lot of pent up need for licensing and permitting because, you know, the local county, state governments that approve the permits are sheltering in place also. So i think were going to see an opportunity right after the covid19 pandemic crisis to have a new initiative in building out Rural Broadband, especially in the rural areas where you need to approve sites and especially on federal lands. So thank you for that legislative initiative. Thank you. Ms. Bloomfield. Its clear this pandemic highlighted the importance of reliable Broadband Services. I know you spoke to this already. But what steps should Congress Take to ensure that truly unserved areas are getting access to these services . Well, thank you very much, senator. I think youve also taken a huge step by initiating some mapping initiatives. We can kind of do it right, do it smart. As we talked about with this panel today, broadband deployment is not a cheap proposition. About ut with he know how critical it is. And i think weve seen over the past few months that its more critical than we even knew. The key is to do it right and make the best uses of the resources, to take programs that you got like the upcoming auction at the fcc to take the reconnect support from usda, how do you marry the programs together . And then how do you also interject potentially what state initiatives might be so that you are getting the best bang for your buck, youre reaching the most americans and making sure were not doing this again in another five, ten years. And very quickly, a follow up to that, mr. Berry. We did pass and ms. Bloomfield referenced the broadband data act which is legislation aimed at improving the mapping process at the fcc. How important is it that we get the data right as we deploy new Broadband Networks . I think its absolutely critical, senator. If you go back a decade when we did the first broadband map and then the stimulus programs, it was a shot in the dark. We spent billions of dollars not knowing where the money should actually go. We have an opportunity a decade later through the legislation that this committee passed to get it right. I think the old saying measure twice, cut once, well, i think if you only have 9 billion over ten years for a mobile product and you have about three times that on a wireline product, you got to get it right the first time. And i would hate to think that were going to overlook those areas that could and should and very well need to be connected because we dont know where they are. It boggles my mind that we cant actually focus our resources in the areas that are most need. Thank you. I hope everyone is listening there, mr. Berry. Senator tester . Are you with us . Yeah. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank the Ranking Member and the folks that testified today. Kind of want to follow up where we just left off. Actually blows my mind also because im in one of those areas where we do have pretty decent internet. In fact, its pretty damn good. The problem is this thing right here works only if you hold your mouth in a certain position. And it drives me a little crazy. So i want to mapping has been talked about a couple times here. And i guess im going to start and direct this to anybody. Im going to direct it to you, ms. Bloomfield. Can we build out in the unserved areas without a good Mapping Program . So, senator is that even possible . I believe i checked after the last hearing to make sure you were served by a Community Based provider up there in montana. Mapping is really important. Mapping is critical. We need to know what we need to know. The other part of that component i would also add is a challenge process. So part of it is youve got the mapping and people putting in data. People self certifying. The other part of that is the ability. And this is one thing that i think our u. S. Does extremely well is before they put money into the ground, if its contested, they go out and they check. They literally do speed checks. They say, you know, if you said this is what youre going to get this is what im getting out here in the field. I think those two things go hand in hand. Lets get better data. Lets compile it. Lets figure out what we need to know and where we need to build. But at the same time, lets make sure were also able to challenge before we put money on the ground. Just for the record, i think one of your members does serve the internet. Its not too bad. Verizon claims this works in my place. Like i said, it depends on what corner of the house youre standing in as to whether it works. So getting back to the point, shirley, on the maps. Anybody else can answer this, too. The fcc, unless they changed their position, have said were just going to Start Building out because we cant get the information on maps quickly. I would actually i would let somebody answer as well. The beauty of the map is theyre going to start with completely unserveded. I think that allows us to keep the process moving but at the same Time Starting off where you know youve got no service. I think that is a wise course of action. Senator, let me address that a little. I think we can walk and chew chewing gum at the same time. I think we can identify where the holes are by gathering the data. Chairman pie testified in the Appropriations Committee 3 1 2 months ago and he said along with what you said that its a matter of months to get the data, not years. And they produced what i call was a false choice in their 5g fund. You can either spend the money now without knowing where its going or the impack its goit i to have or wait three years to spend the dollar. Thats a false choice. It should not be should not be proposed by the agency of expertise. I agree with you 100 . Thanks for saying. That the truth is that, look, the one thing this pandemic pointed out is we need we need high Speed Internet. We need good cell service. Otherwise we dont have health care that can be distance. We dont have teleeducation when schools are out. I have one last question. Mr. Berry, if you have the money, do we have the workforce and you spoke of ppe. Do we have the ppe to protect that workforce . Thank you, senator. Weve been getting sufficient amounts of ppe to our members and i think all of the Group Setting here at the table have had some experience with the fema. But that has now starting to wayne. Many of ous are seeing masks or gloves or hand sanitizers, its getting more and more difficult. Actually, were trying to find and locate providers of those services and goods and equipment for our members now because it is getting very difficult to do that. Youre right, you cant keep the networks up and running if the crews and the employees are unsafe when they go out to do it. I appreciate the question. I hope we can get a little better response going forward. If i could, i could not agree more with mr. Berry. We are in dire need of Additional Resources to ensure that what has been designated as a critical infrastructure, our front line broadband providers that are out there every day trying to get installs done often in harms way cant have the protective equipment that is required. Weve been literally shipping cotton masks from our offices to our members. Weve got to make sure that pipeline of safety and opportunity for health for our workers is in place and intact. Thank you all. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator tester. Mr. Berry, let me just ask you. This we really need to know. Ms. Bloomfield said with the ardof which is right upon us, the maps are less of a problem than with the long term 5g fund because they will serve they will be directed towards completely unserved areas. Can we have a comfort there . I havent blefl that ardof would be benefited by better information. But they have and they move forward and they set some deadlines. We have many members that are looking at that. And i would hate to see it moved up because of those that have been planning on participating in the september, october time frame could be disadvantaged. But i think that everyone could benefit from better data. Okay. You got that in. I was going to give everybody a chance to comment on that. But if everyone would speak to that and answers on the record. We really need to know that. This thing has got to happen at least in the time frame that has been laid out. October will be here before you know it. Things have to unfold before then. But do we have answer on the record. Do we have Comfort Level that that is going to go only to unserved areas . Next we have senator moran. Thank you for indulging me. Are you there . I am here. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Wouldnt surprise you or maybe our witness thats im going to continue along the line that you just asked about. And a number of my colleagues asked this morning the inaccuracy of the maps and the consequence of that. When the maps were provided to me months ago, i dont know how long ago it was now, you could look at a map and see that it did not reflect reality in kansas. It would be easy to go places where the map says there is coverage and clearly demonstrate that there isnt. So weve been at this map issue for a long time. It does seem, i serve on the appropriation subcommittee that funds the fcc. I was at the hearing that was just described. Much it see it seems to me this has been presented to me and congress and to the senate as kind of an all or nothing. These maps we can use these and get it done or we can modify the maps. It will take a while. During that while the deployment of broadband will be slowed or eliminated. So i led an effort a couple weeks ago with the kansas delegation in corresponding with the fcc regarding what balance there should be between the accuracy and granular data, the information that were looking for versus, if thats the case, versus the speed of deploying federal broadband funding. Particularly through the 5g fund auction. I was going to ask mr. Berry and you just headed him down this path, but let me start with mr. Berry. So what do we see the one versus the other . I heard what ms. Bloomfield said about this issue. Im looking for the same kind of assurance that the chairman was asking for. Isnt there a way or is there a way, let me be less definitive in my views, is there a way in which we can continue to deploy broadband while we acquire the necessary information to do it accurately and appropriately and while the United States senate and the congress provides Additional Resources to the fcc to accomplish that . Mr. Berry . Thank you, senator. And let me thank you for your letter to the fcc. That was extraordinary letter. I think brought a lot of light to the subject matter. So, yes, i think we can. You know, its been five months. Ive been focused on 5g mainly because that is wireless. Wireline, its easier to figure out who it is serving than in the wireless scenario when you have a broad area that is controlled by psychics and the spectrum manipulation. So i think you can do both. Again, ardof is more focused on a wireline and fixed wireless solution. And i think in those areas you may have a much better chance of saying we know there is no line that goes in to this place. On the wireless side, i think you have to have the good data. And this committee was very specific with the legislative statute in terms and conditions and requirements. After five months of the announcing the 5g fund, i havent heard the fcc one time ask for additional funds from your subcommittee or this committee and started a new mapping Data Collection process. Its disappointing to say the least. Let many he ask the others on the panel if they would like to add to this discussion. I would, senator, if i could. Im not surprised. So first of all, nobody, i think, in the United States of america wants to deploy broadband more quickly and rapidly and efficiently than our members. Our members deployed more fiber than all other parts of our industry combined. And as experts, i would say that, yes, we can move quickly. But we need to move forward particularly in the context of the rural digitsal fund. Some suggested the competition put taxpayers at risk, potentially have money left on the table by up ending the roolz n rules now to get the money out doort in an the door in an unvetted way with its auction process. I think question go through this auction, move very rapidly and the opportunity for congress, it is your prerogative, to insist that the fcc not change its rules midstream and potentially cause risk to the program and to future broadband deployment. But insist that those companies have bid successfully for gigabyte fiber to the homes be qualified and approved immediately and the money go out the door immediately after the auction. To do so before the auction by changing the rules to potentially benefit just one competitor and their consultants would be financially inprudent and put taxpayers on the line. Thank you. I request other panelists to speak. Thank you, mr. Chairman. They can answer on the record. We appreciate you indulging us. Senator marky . Im here. During this pandemic, its no the just the home work gap which we face, its a much larger learning gap that is really becoming an opportunity gap for the children and our most vulnerable families. Thats why yesterday i introduced the emergency educational connection act, legislation that would provide 4 billion in erate funding to ensure that all k12 students have home work, access at home so they have the connectivity, they have the devices that theyre going to need during this coronavirus pandemic. And im proud that 45 of my colleagues joined this bill including every democratic member of the committee and that our effort was endorsed by over 50 organizations including the National Education association, the American Federation of teachers, Common Sense Media and ttia and ncta. So my question is to the entire panel. Could you support providing billions of erate dollars to bridge the learning gap during the Public Health crisis . Yes or no . Yes. Yes along with the cost fund. We believe that there should be absolutely programs, Emergency Programs to supplement and direct dollars for erate, life line and to do so as quickly as we can. Yes, senator. We fully support your effort. So thank you. And i think its i think its going to be critical for us to include that money in this package. Although students must be a top priority, theyre not the only ones during the Internet Access crisis that were having during this pandemic. According to a february 2020 analysis, 42 million Americans Still lack reliable broadband. And that is simply unacceptable. During the coronavirus crisis, more than ever, were seeing how necessary, robust and affordable broadband is to the future of american life, education, jobs, and medical care. Thats why i have introduced a National Broadband plan for the future act, legislation that instructs the fcc to update the National Broadband plan as well as to study how the coronavirus pandemic changed the way americans live, work, and learn online. I authored the amendment to the 2009 recovery act that created the original National Broadband plan. Im proud of that plans road map. Universal connectivity and the amazing progress weve made over the last ten years. Work remains to be done. Do you gr he that we shouagree should update the next plan in the relief pack snaj. Package . Absolutely. It needs to happen with getting the money flowing. We cant just do the plan. We have to do all the other pieces to keep as many people on the Broadband Networks. But we need a plan as well. So a vision without funding is a hallucination. First you need a plan to make sure it is spent correctly. Thank you. And mr. Chairman, ill say finally ill close on two notes. First, we must also address the t band in our next coronavirus package. Every day First Responders on the front lines of the covid19 crisis rely on t band spectrum. A provision from the 2012 tax law required the fcc to option the t band by february of 2021. Instead of sad willing them with bills to move spectrum bands, congress should do right about it heroes that keep us safe and provide the 5 00 is he is to t band in the next covid19 recovery legislation. And, second, this committee must continue to work and conduct oversight to ensure we keep Small Businesses connected and that carriers are not unfairly raising rates in the midst of this pandemic of what is most important today more than ever is we keep everyone connected. And thats why im so glad that youre having this timely hearing, mr. Chairman. I yield back. Thank you so much, mr. Senator marky. Senator blackburn . Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you to our witnesses. I think its fair to say that each of you have been on this subject for a long time. I enjoy working with you in the house as i crafted the act and moved that to passage and reauthorization of the fcc and, of course, we were so pleased that was able to be completed by the senates action. And it did set up an expansion for high Speed Internet and for getting us on the right path for our 5g. And, mr. Chairmaberry, i apprec that you talked about that, about 5g. And i will have to tell you in bringing up the usf, it is time for us to review that and reform it or either eliminate it. And be able to address that component of the portion of an individuals will that goes to that. Ms. Bloomfield, we talked about maps. One of my topics that we know that the maps have been incorrect. There is quite a bit of discussion today. And my hope is that the ntia bill address this. In tennessee, we have 20. 3 of our state that is still without access to high Speed Internet. Im one of those. Without it in order to work during this pandemic, my staff ended up sending a bubble hot spot that we were able to use. But our land line provider has a space that does not that is still on copper and doesnt have fiber and im in that area. So youre right, it makes life difficult. For everyone. Mr. Spalter, i hope that you all will start to think not just in terms of smart cities, but smart counties. As you look for ways to expand access to high Speed Internet. In that vain, i think ms. Bloomfield, let me come to you with my question. Last year senator baldwin and i did the Internet Exchange act. Having these ixps located so we can move greater volume of data. We need to begin to rethink the placement and rethink that access. Because as we have seen, people are moving out of the urban core and into more rural areas for safety of their children. And their families and their tl is qui there is quite a bit being written. So if we plan ahead and look at how this pandemic may change where society chooses to live and to work, talk about the necessity for having those items, please. Thank you. Thank you, senator. That is one of the reasons we created a smart Rural Community to recognize that rural areas can be very attractive places to live. I think were going to see some very interesting patterns once our economy recovers a little bit and people kind of choose what lifestyle they would like to lead. I commend you on leadership on that legislation. It is another really important tool in the tool kit. St what you have been looking to do is making sure that it can be affordable to carry that middle mile traffic. What a lot of people forget is that when my carrier whos have internet track, they have to provide it to a backbone provider to carry that traffic. That can be the most expensive part of the transit. Its part of the cost thats are not going down right now. If nothing else, theyre increasing. So your initiative to make that a more reasonable part of the package will definitely make it easier for Broadband Connectivity, for Robust Networks as well as cashing Video Services to be carried along into Rural Communities. So, again, a little foresight on your part, for sure. Well, my hope is that were going to be mindful of the load and the capacity of day to day operations of our regional carriers, if you will. As we look at how children are learning, how health care is being delivered, how Economic Development is needed as we repatriate manufacturing back to this country. And, mr. Berry, i have to tell you, i was amused. I read a story which i thought was so innovative. A School District in alabama had wifi enabled school buses. So in order to help children get the schoolwork done during the pandemic, they moved the school buses into neighborhoods at fire stations so that children could come. So a big cheer for wifi and that ability and 5g. And the ability for them to handle that work load and be able to have enough bandwidth to meet the needs of those children. I thought that was great way to get the tasks done. So thank you all for your continued work, support, and interest. I yield back, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator blackburn. Senator rosen . Thank you, chairman, for holding this important hearing and all the witnesses being here today. I appreciate this. Senator blackburn talked about Rural Communities because we have a lot in nevada. But i particularly want to thank this committee for helping get my bipartisan Building Blocks of stem act that i introduced with senator capital signed into law last year. We passed that bill. We didnt know we would be facing a Global Pandemic that fund. Ally fundamentally changes the way we provide children with education. That was about breaking down barriers for young girls in s. T. E. M. Education. But now were dealing with the technological barriers which could Place Education out of the reach for millions of underserved american students. Senator blackburn, its a particularly challenge in our rural areas in a city like nevada, thats a wonderful and vibrant community in the northeastern part of our great state. It is ranked among the top cities nationwide for the smallest internet speed. Its a list you dont want to be in the top of. Nobody ranked highest for the speed. So were not alone. 65 of our rural population is without access to high Speed Internet. Compared to just 5 of our urban centers. And so with the population of 20,000 has made significant efforts to incentivize providers to deploy broadband to their community for which its leadership should be commended. But to encourage providers to deploy the city even dropped Franchise Fees to zero. So far, it is still not received any offers for Telecommunications Companies. So i know that were going to speak to this and what else what can a city like alco do if it has no takers from Telecommunications Companies . They need to improve their internet all around nevada. We need to improve our internet in rural nevada. What suggestions might you have for them . Well, senator, ill start. Some of our carriers in rural mississippi and areas that are very difficult to reach have gone around and signed up government businesses predesignated locations and once you get enough of those Interested Companies and individuals to sign on, then they can see a Business Case to get a loan and actually build not only fiber but wireless or fixed wireless. Thats one way you with do it without government support. The other is if we get broadband data mapping done, that would show up significantly as a hole or a gap and we can target funds that are already available under the i dont know if its the 5g fund or ardof fund or even some of the existing mobility two funds. Those are a couple things you can do immediately. I think it really is up to the local Government Entities to help identify carrier thats are willing to take that risk to go in and build. And, senator, i would also just add in the spirit of thinking creatively, you know, one of the things that i really like is that it is telling carriers who dont want to upgrade who are arent willing to go to that next tier speed to base he cannily cry uncle will and say, all right, im not going to serve this area and allow other providers to come in and do that service. I think to steves point, you know, being able to get that support to do is important. But another thing that im seeing an interesting model is i have a lot of areas where my local Community Based providers are partnering with municipalities. Municipalities are able to support the Business Model and the local Broadband Company can come in and provide the service. So we think we need to think creatively about what partnerships can you create in a Public Private environment that will get the job done . I think getting people to be open to the Business Models is going to be important. If i could add to that, senator. T first of all, thank you for your question. Thats what were working on, and what congress is working on to achieve which is 100 connectivity for all of the communities across the country. And the connectivity gap thats you reference that were seeing today i think are reflective of a few major policy deficiencies. Not deficiencies in companies, not wanting to actually deliver broadband but because theyre underlying and systemic policy issues. Let me point to three. First sis incrementalism. Were constantly defining what is unserved. It is 41, 101, 25, 3 . As a result, were never able to reach those who still have no service. The second is funding. We talked about this. We need to ensure that the recognition that delivering broadband is an extremely extensive proposition in our most remote and Rural Communities. And so significant money amount of money is required to get the job done. Lets meet that challenge. Lets do it together today. The third is the indensible funding tow ensure were spending resources with the accuracy required to reach the truly unserved. Not where broadband currently is going but rather to know where it is not going if we can solve that problem and its in your hands, i think well be much further towards our goal of 100 connectivity. Thank you. Senator . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Okay. Im good. Thank you. Thank you again, mr. Chairman. And the Ranking Member. Just briefly being from West Virginia during this covid19 experience, ive heard anecdotally from a guy who lost his land line for 27 days. He has no availability for connectivity. So the land line really is his only emergency. Ive heard from gentleman whose daughter, hes in waverly, she has to drive 10 to 15 miles to get the connectivity to continue her education remotely an on Distance Learning. We have these stories all across the country. I think mr. Kimmelman points out in his statement that West Virginias taken some cdbg money and devoted that to our West Virginia Broadband Council to have a good assessment of what we really have. As ive studied this sometimes i think the reason were not getting it deployed to where we are is because were not really sure where what we really aside from the mapping issue, where we have, who the resources are and the people are that are interested in deploying this. So i want to go to ms. Bloomfield first. I dont want to rehash a lot of the questions. But one thing you said in your Opening Statement and something im concerned about deeply is we have usda, with he have fcc, we have commerce and we have other dollars coming in from other areas, providers and everything. I think the worst thing we can do is waste money here. And i think thats whats happened in a lot of cases. And so those unserved and underserved areas are still unserved and underserved. You have the forever connected broadband. Is that aimed at that particular problem . Its my aspirational desire that we actually that we actually get that coordination. Funding is limited. You have to use it wisely. I look at things that usda is doing and how do we coordinate that, you know, through our u. S. With what the fcc is doing s . I think youre seeing critical conversations but how do they loop in if West Virginia has their own initiative, how do they become part of that . How do we make sure that under ardof if anybody got West Virginia money that that not get them kicked out of eligibility . I think we have to make sure we have a coordinated approach. I think congress will take a very key role in making sure all of the key agencies are talking, sharing information, sharing challenge processes and coordinate wrg tho coordinating where those dollars go so we can use them best. Another thing when talking to one of the main providers several years ago, i said what is it really going to take . And he says well, shelly, its going to take time and money. Yeah. Well, were talking about money here. Lets talk about time lines. I mean when we see what i mean i think this covid19, one of the Lessons Learned is this connectivity issue. Its just been incredible the telehealth expansions and the way people like it. They like to have the telehealth appointments. Where do each of you think time line wise were going cease having the conversations and having conversations about maybe overexposure to internet or things overbilled . Mr. Berry, do you have a three years, five years . One year, six months . Yeah. Thank you. You know, the issue is predictability availability of assured funding. And i think you do that i mean, we can spend a trillion dollars probably building out broadband in the United States. But you cant do that all in one year. You have the you have to have the equipment, put finer in tbe ground. It takes time. If we had a 50 billion usf program after you do a contribution reform and you knew that was going to come through every year and you had maps that were accurate and you had terrain factors like in West Virginia, its, you know, beautiful state. I mean i was over in davis, West Virginia, a couple years ago and the mayor carried three phones because he didnt have coverage. So its a great place to live, work, and enjoy the mountains. But its a very expensive place to build. And i think if you had that, then West Virginia could, in it fact, get access to the funds that it so desperately needs for broadband and so can the rest of the United States. And we really have to get serious about reforming the usf contribution factor and giving some real dollars, long term predictability dollars to that fund. So then five years . Let me i think that the only way to actually sufficiently and accurately answer that question is to understand that it is fundamentally a policy question. Our broadband providers are ready to go to work to not only deploy more broadband but get more customers and close that Digital Divide. Timing is a question of what the political will to actually put the resource thats will be required to have a permanent fixed universal service. It also equally will be accelerate philadelphia wered with accelerated to have the political will and streamline the federal lands is available and level the Playing Field when it comes to things like attachment rates. Right. Where coops and electric coops and municipal chargers are triple, more than rates of other broadband other broadband providers. Chair is telling me my time is up. Thank you. Senator lee. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Mr. Spalter, i would like to start with you and i want to talk about firing up that weed whacker. I like the idea a lot. I live in a state in utah where twothirds of the land is owned by the federal government. As a result of that somewhat unique dine sacic, it creates unique challenges for us. As time we have to cross federal land or use a rightofway. We continue to experience very significant project delays, that are tied to federal mandates and regulations and bureaucracy. Weve heard a lot of discussion today as to why we need more federal funding. And i think that should certainly be up for debate. We ought to have that conversation. I dont think that is the only conversation we need to have. And i think in the case of utah and many other western states, where there is a disproportionate amount of federal land as a percentage of our land mass, were reminded of the fact that we cant solely spend our way out of the problem. There are other things we need to look at. Now mobile mile had some good provisions to help stream line deployment efforts on federal land but there are still a lot of significant problems that i think we need to address. What in your view should congress do to stream line the Agency Permitting process for broadband deployment on federal lands. First and foremost i think the recognition that this is a profound and festering problem, ive heard stories from providers in utah and beyond and other states not having to wait days and months to get permitting to provide access to unserved community but measured in months, sometimes even years, to suffer through those burdensome and permitting problems. Your initiative through mobile now and other congressional initiatives to do whatever we can to stream line federal permitting to coordinate tiegly and in realtime across agencies that have varying responsibilities and federal lands to make sure that is both prioritize from a policy perspective but it imbedded into the principle. And you said it exactly right, senator, it is not money alone that will deliver the promise of full universal connectivity and it will be smart policies to kpes the time it takes and the burdens imposed on our providers to deliver that and that starts with permitting processes. I assume you would agree that biggest disparity in this country is the distinction between rural and nonRural America. In terms of access. Yes. Would you also agree with me that in western states like mine the distinction between rural and nonrural is heavily influenced by if not almost synonymous with federal land issues. In other words Rural Communities throughout my state are awash in federal land. And so oddly enough in those areas where we need Broadband Access the most, it can be the most difficult to deploy in those areas precisely because there is a mountain, byzantine labyrinth of federal regulations to go through and in addition to the neppa process which would take many, many years. And that could do more to help close this divide than almost anything we could spend money on, couldnt it. I agree. Another way of putting it is that broadband providers could extend broadband and dig trenches through mountains than conquer the mountains of federal bureaucracy on our federal lands to deploy. Mr. Barry, could we better meet the future needs as far as spectrum in our country by doing a careful review of federal spectrum allocations . Yes, sir, and im glad you raised that because wireless runs on the spectrum availability. We do need to do a serious deep dive on what are the spectrum allocations in the United States and make some of that available for wireless use. Commercial auctioned licensed use. And that is the only way were going to get to the next level in the 5g world is if you get a mix of low, band and high spectrum and sooner rather than later. And the one i just talked about was the Navajo Nation worked with a carrier with this unusual opportunity to get an sda, we doubled the speed and they actually doubled the usage and the capacity because we had more spectrum. If we cant get there, then were not going to see the promise of gigabit wireless for a long time. And im very thankful that we got the c band coming up and cvrs is going to start in june and we hope adikt diditional sp will be moving down the road but thank you for the question. You could imagine what we could do if we had the cooperation of the department of defense in conducting an inventory. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As the acting chairman i want to say senator lees points are right on with regard to cooperation involving the federal government to help us. Senator baldwin. Thank you so much, mr. Chairman and to our witnesses for providing such great testimony today. As others have observed today, we have a new day with regard to the amount of use and reliance on broadband, high Speed Broadband in particular, and while this committee has spent a lot of time talking about the need for Broadband Access throughout the United States, the covid19 crisis has laid bare the reality of how needed it is. Weve used broadband to work, telework, to telelearn, to Access Medical care, to connect with government services, to stay in touch with friends and family and in wisconsin in our most recent elections to order absentee ballots and try to upload photo i. D. S. And so this pricrisis in my min may shift our every day lives into these modes of communication work, learning, et cetera. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions and testimony that was provided earlier. I wanted to start with you, miss blockfield, about the increasing importance of upload speeds. You talked about the fact that we usually look at download speeds. But if you might just talk a little bit about what youve seen change in the last couple of months in terms of usage of networks and what that involves specifically tor telehealth, telelearning, telework. Thank you, senator. It is not lost on me were having this hearing using Broadband Connectivity as well. Right. So here we are talking about broadband and many of you are using broadband to connect. And that is the twoway communication that were seeing an explosion of. As we talked about, we talk about what are the speeds, what is the right speed, but one of the things that were seeing that i think is most interesting is that two way, were seeing people needing to up load as quickly as theyre needing to download. To me able to do all of that web ex meetings and zoom conferences and the twoway communication tools that were using, particularly as we think about teachers in the schoolroom trying to teach to 30 children remotely using technology and for the children to be able to respond, to up load their homework, to share their projects, all of that back and forth if were really saying that our world may be a different world and it may be a virtual connected world. That ability to have that twoway communication that is relatively same time is going to be very important. We cant do what were doing right now if youre having jitter, if youre having that time delay. It really makes the tool so much less effective. So i think as were looking at networks and the deployment of the networks, that robust nature is going to be more important than i think we had thought previously because were seeing how people are actually using this technology. In the past, people were very happy just downloading and responding on emails. But we are seeing that as we use it as a tool to stay connected, that robust nature is going to be really important. One of the things that we talked a mayor amount about during this hearing is the importance of mapping as we said earlier, measure twice before you cut or map twice before you dig, one of the things im curious about is the information that we are getting from schools about which of the pupils have access to adequate broadband speeds and have Broadband Access and which of the pupils and their families dont. Are we using that data at all to inform our mapping projects . Would it be a good idea to do so . Senator, let me address that because i think you hit something that we havent thought a whole lot about previously. We have a couple of carriers that provided connectivity to the schools that did not have a wifi, myfy sufficient to do Virtual Education and then the school shut down. And then they came, the teachers came and said we have 150 students with no access at home. Well our carrier didnt know that until the School Principal came and said and we know who they are and where they are. And guess what, we went to work, that carrier started providing ipads connected to a wifi and myfy and drove school buses to the neighborhoods where some of these children lived and left the school bus there so they could have connectivity. Youve hit on something that i dont think weve really utilized the data and information that we have in the schools because it is never been a need to share with carriers. And i think we could do a lot better job with that information moving forward. And thats something that we have to include in our maps. The other thing i would address and the concept is that people are working from home and that is why we kept pushing and continue to push to stay connected voucher because it used to be you do that at work and now youre doing it at home and youre having to pay for it. And the consumer is going to be in a tough bind as we move down this road, the longer we stay in virtual connection with our offices so we hope that you would consider looking at the Voucher Program. It is complementary to the kramer klobuchar bill. Thank you. On behalf of the chairman, im going to recognize myself and there has been a lot of discussion of rural needs, rural states, there is rural and then there is my state, the great state of alaska so im going to focus a little bit on the issues. I do appreciate senator klobuchar and senator udall highlighting the needs of native americans, alaskaives, that is almost 20 of my states population and i do want to incentivize alaska natives, whether members of tribes or alaska native corporations or both are just as in need of support from the federal government as native americans in places like new mexico and other states and more to the point on something that occurred over the recess and is really burning me up as a u. S. Senator, continued personal attacks on the assistant secretary of the interior for Indian Affairs and alaska native work of impeccable integrity, who is doing an amazing job by senior Democratic Senators are shameful, unacceptable and need to stop. And i hope all of my colleagues listen to that and take heed. But im digressing here on an issue of importance. Let me ask the panelists, what else can congress do for extreme rural states like mine . Let me just jump right in there, senator. I had the great opportunity to visit our member Alaska Communications systems and one of the first trips i made as ceo at u. S. Telecom and able to understand the extraordinary complexity and challenge of delivering broadband to the communities geographically that alaska proudly has and we believe and would support providing additional funding to health care through the Rural Health Care program at the fcc. We would recognize that the need for those funds has outpaced the actual amounts of those funds. The same time i think we have to be very careful about not putting into place and implementing major reforms as were struggling through getting our sea legs during this country pandemic. Very good point. We need to be cadenced but also recognize that Rural Health Care provision through that program, unique to alaska, is very important. And as you know now a lot of people are talking about Rural Health Care. My state was actually the lead innovator of that just for the needs of the populations in alaska. We have over 200 communities that are not connected by roads. So this is imperative. I think the fcc chairman unfortunately has failed to recognize how important this is. So were going to keep pressing that issue. But i appreciate your thoughts and ideas on that. Miss bloomfield, im cosponsoring with senator klobuchar the keeping critical connectors act which is focused on smaller providers which of course in alaska we have a number of those. Can you talk to how you think thats going to be helpful and, again, for all of the panelists, ill just put that out there, the ppp program, have the smaller telecoms been able to access that in your experience, what are you hearing with regard to those issues and again ill open it up for all of the panelists to address any and all of the comments that and questions that i just asked but why dont we start with you. Senator, there was a lot in there so ill try to go really fast. Alaska is unique and that is one of the reasons why the fcc had done the lask plan to take a look and make sure they got the support that they need and we appreciate that. And it was important and i think it is time to think about the next step because we know how quickly time passes. So the folks in alaska are led by a great state association and theyre thinking proactively on that. That is one piece. On second piece when you talk about the critical connections act, it is really important. It is the piece that is going to allow the essential providers to continue to build and sustain and maintain networks while people arent able to afford to pay for the service. But it is a really Important Initiative and were delighted that youre cosponsoring that. It has strong bipartisan support so well hopefully move that here in the Commerce Committee. Absolutely. And on the Rural Health Care, ill share an anecdote that we offer a Teledoc Program and provide Health Care Insurance to 60,000 Rural Americans through our program and weve seen increase in our teledoc, 55 in april. The need is there. But you need the underlying broadband to make that connectivity work and then work on licensing and all of the other bureaucracies that go along with that. Great, thank you. Thank you, senator. We have i think five members including gci, thank you for all of your help, all of your constant support and work on how do you serve an area as fast as your state. And a frustration with the fcc chairman ill just say. We share that occasionally also. I know you do. But thank you. And you mentioned the kcc, the keep americans connected, we support the stay which i think is complementary the support the state Voucher Program because when you ask the consumer what do you want, they want to pay my bill. If you ask a carrier what you want, i want to keep my network up and running. And just as the ppp program was conceived as a complementary for the sba loan and the loan forgiveness program, these two programs go hand in hand. It addresses the need to have the network up and running and fill the holes that hurt a lot of small carriers and addresses the issue of the consumer, that gets to make the decision what the most important connectivity in their household and i think we do both things because this is a severe crisis that were going through in alaska, got bless them out there. I have a first cousin up there that is it is a tough right now its tough. Well get through it. Were a tough state. Senator shots. Thank you, mr. Chairman, thank you for all of your testimony and all of your good work. I am struck by the following dynamic, it seems to me that wearing the same conversation that we normally have about broadband and connectivity and telehealth and Distance Learning and all of that is really important but were missing the plot. Were missing the fact that right now kids cant learn. Were missing the fact that right now teachers cant even teach because they lack connectivity in their homes. And so we need to think in terms of phasing this out. And i take a backseat to no one on criticizing the fcc about mapping or the use of usf or whatever it is. But a lot of what is being contemplated today in this hearing is at least medium term and a lot of it longterm. 16 billion over ten years, mapping reform, usf reform and we have to move at the speed of the virus. So i have one simple question. Were going to be contemplating the heroes act as it comes over from the house of representatives. What is the one thing we ought to do right away in the next piece of legislation in order to connect people in whatever way is possible and think of it as a band aid. Whether it is wifi hot spots or whatever we need to do, but we dont have the luxury of thinking about broadband infrastructure over the next six to 18 months or five to ten years. We have to figure out how to connect kids right now. We have to figure out how to connect people who are eligible for telehealth under compare right now. And so ill start with mr. Kimmelman and go down the line, what is the next thing we ought to do in the next bill. Thank you, senator, shots, i think youre spot on. I think you need to put money immediately into expanding e rate and allow the schools to be used to serve adjacencies to expand wifi availability. If we cant get the digging right away, if we cant build out the infrastructure right away, a lot of money into that, but lets take full advantage of the spectrum and the facilities that we have to share more broadly so that more kids and, frankly, communities could be connected. Thank you. Jump ball. Can i ill grab that ball, senator. And i completely agree with you from the getgo. We sent a letter to all of the commissioners at the fcc, we recently with several associations came together and asked congress to do exactly the same thing which is, a. , lets get significant funding immediately out of the door to support those families, communities and enterprises that are currently in need with respect to fcc programs we call on the fcc to establish immediately a lifelinelike program constituted as an Emergency Funding program to be able to do an end run around the byzantine rules and requirements and complications to get money out of the door quickly. With respect to lifeline. At a minimum such a new program should tweak the rules to support one fixed and one mobile broadband connection per house immediately. Similar with e rate. A program that would be able to direct more assistance immediately with reflexibility in rules that will be able to deliver those dollars. Two key principles, one, they have to me administrative in an easy way and two we have a low barrier for folks, both for consumers and for providers signing up for programs. Those have to go hand in hand. Im going to do three points. One, create an emergency Life Line Program to allow folks who cant afford connectivity to stay connected, two, support the networks themselves through the critical connections act and three look at the doe money they just received and the 16 billion to make sure that money goes to tool and application and broadband for school children. Senator, i would second that. I would say that first like a good physician first you do no harm, i think the first thing you have to do is make sure the networks are up and running and the kcc program does that. The stay connected Voucher Program takes care of the consumers to make sure that they continue to be connected and then i think you have to do some triage on the programs that are there right now like the e rate program and the Lifeline Program that you could beef those up because you dont need six, 10, 12 months in order to deliver solutions, he need ie immediate relief and then talk about how we do this in a much more methodical fashion as we move forward to get Broadband Connectivity to 100 of the United States. Thank you very much. Senator blumenthal. Thanks. Senator sullivan and thank you all for being here and thanks for your leadership. I want to pursue that line of questioning about lifeline and e rate because i do think they are key to bridging and closing the Digital Divide in the homework app that is ongoing right now. It is urgent and pressing. We need to meet it. We need a bold plan and leadership and i am proud to have led a letter with 26 of my Senate Colleagues to congressional leadership calling for 1 billion right away for the Lifeline Program. Lifeline and other emergency broadband benefits ought to be at the core of a comprehensive plan. And i think weve been sort of marching around it in normal times lifeline is underfunded, during a pandemic and when schools are shut down and businesses are shuttered, it is more essential than ever. And we ought to remind ourselves that after hurricane katrina, the fcc took sweeping action to keep those whose lives have been upended by disaster connected through the internet and within one month dedicated more than 200 million to fund connectivity efforts and aggressively opened up lifeline and e rate programs to new carriers and subscribers. I am thankful to fcc chairman pie. Hes made some useful changes to lifeline in recent weeks but by comparison these changes are just baby steps in the right direction. So let me ask every one of you whether you have an estimate, lets talk dollars about how much should be devoted to lifeline. Is 1 billion the right amount . Would you recommend more, less . Again, lets go down the line and ask for mr. Kimmelman, since youre by remote to start us. Thank you, senator blumenthal. It is a great initiative. If senator shots would have given me more lifeline i would have been there with the assistance liabilities. 1 million at least and i think you could spend more because the price of broadband is so out of reach for so many people. Thank you. Mr. Spalter. Let me say that without specifically saying what the amount is, i do think we should think as well on program reform so the temporary Emergency Programs both for lifeline and e rate could flow money as quickly as possible. We have past is prologue. That could be done through the telehealth Emergency Program where doctors are reaching and we could do the same with lifeline and e rate, for example extending the waivers to e rate rules to include dollars to flow to allowing teachers and students and their families to have access to funds for not just connectivity but for devices at home. With respect to lifeline, we could move very quickly to think about mechanisms to ensure that a temporary Emergency Program would be extensive, not just to traditional lifeline eligible participants but to big workers and newly unemployed workers so that the scope of impact could be broader in this immediate moment. I agree that the actual number, the dollar figure is not going to be in the millions, it will be in the billions. But we need to move quickly. Well i think that is a helpful answer since youre talking about billions as mr. Kimmelman is well. Mrs. Blockfield. I would think the number would be significant and i think that youre initiative to be thinking about an emergency plan because there are going to be some people newly unemployed not eligible for the existing Lifeline Program so how do we capture those people whose lives have been just up ended so it is looking at the program in the longterm but in the short run to get the support out of the door. And i will say keeping the critical corrections ard will allow providers to maintain or increase speeds to consumers that will be a complement to the lifeline subsidy. Thank you. Senator, i agree youre on the right track. As i mention we support the stay connected Voucher Program. That would be a complement to the lifeline and the e rate program. When you think about it, it goes directly to the consumer. They make the decision. It empowers the consumer. It could depend on if you have two vouchers to each household up to 9 plus billion dollars and that is the number for getting funds and muchneeded access to communications, services directly. And the thing about it is the process is already established. The care act has sent 1,200 checks to everyone and it goes down deeper and more Technology Neutral than anything else that is out there. It can be done immediately and i think it would be very complementary your concept. Thank you. I appreciate all of your supporting this concept in real dollars. Because we have that job of making it happen and we could all support the principles here but the dollars make the make so thank you all for your support. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator cinema. Witnesses for participating today. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of having reliable high Speed Internet access throughout the country and it is a difficult time for arizonans but Broadband Access opens up many opportunities for month employees to work from home and students to participate in Distance Learning for families to access telehealth and for friends to keep in touch and even for the United States senators to participate in Commerce Committee hearings remotely but according to the department of commerce, 28 million american households could not access the internet from home. So expanding broadband for rural and tribal communities is critical for families in arizona during the crisis and in the future. I was proud to support broadband in the cares act but we need to do more. The next relief package must continue to expand access for arizonans, looking forward we need to make sure that we have a longterm plan to invest in broadband infrastructure and develop better coverage maps and utilize federal resources efficiently and im looking forward to working with the stakeholders and my colleagues on the committee to address the issues. My first question is for mr. Kimmelman. 12 million children lack reliable Internet Access which is a necessity tor arizona students to get Online Learning during the crisis. Ive heard those in arizona working to mitigate the challenges for students. For example two dozen school buses and Sunnyside Unified School direct are parked in parking lots around the community to provide Internet Access for nearby students to receive assignments and communicate with teachers. Im a cosponsor of senate bill 738 which is a bill that requires the fcc to make the provision of wifi access on buses eligible for e rate support. This bill addresses the homework gap by helping students who cant get the internet at home. My question is how else do you think we could support kids with Distance Learning and how could we support School Districts utilizing innovative options during closures. Thank you, senator cinema. Appreciate your efforts here because the access to wifi on buses is critical tree auiage r now and i hope the congress will move forward on that. I think from there we need to make sure were getting the infrastructure builds as quickly as possible in underserved and put shovels in the ground when you need fiber and moving faster than what the fcc has been doing. We need to put the money into deployment so supporting small companies, senator klobuchar suggested with senator kramer and expanding lifelines so that those who cant afford broadband where it exists could at least have access to it and take advantage of it. We need to get everyone on the network who could possibly be on the network so that you could provide Health Care Services and expand telehealth, to make education work as Distance Learning the best you can. Those are a variety offinishives that need to happen immediately. I appreciate it. My next question is for mr. Barry and kimmelman. 7 in 10 residents on world tribal lands remain without access. The Navajo Nation has been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We have over 100 confirmed deaths. Ive heard from Navajo Nation leadership that Internet Access is essential to mitigate the crisis in their community. During my time in the senate ive worked hard to make sure to use the Broadband Services and i was glad to see last month the fcc agreed to let the Navajo Nation used unassigned spectrum for access during the crisis and received funding from the telehealth and the cares act to provide services to patients who are isolated including low income and elderly and highrisk patients so could you discuss how the fcc and congress could further support the Indian Country during this crisis. Thank you, senator, and thank you for your leadership on this issue. Youve been a stalwart of support for everyone, especially the Navajo Nation. We have served Navajo Nation itself and it is extraordinary with the increase of access to spectrum and through the sda that the fcc provided, 54 sites in one week were able to be turned up and provide quality broadband capability and theyre working for efficiently and trying to find other ways to enhance this sda concept. I think we need to look at partitionment of the spectrum out there in the rural areas that may not be fully utilized by a carrier that might own it or it could be leased. Some of the rules that the fcc, especially on partitionment and disaggregation are complicated and a carrier that may wish to lease or provide spectrum to another provider may not be able to do so without extraordinary exceptions at the fcc. So all of those things i think we need to explore and i like the idea of having special attention given to native americans, not only at the fcc but in the legislative packages that are going around. That is one of the reasons why we do support the stay connected voucher, because it will go directly to the consumer. There may be service out there that they cant afford and hopefully they can do that. But your issue goes deeper than just Broadband Connectivity. Many of those in the Navajo Nation that got the access to broadband, their homes dont even have Running Water, so when they say wash your hands, wash your hands, you have your heart has to feel for those individuals that are lacking more than broadband, so thank you for the question. Could i just very briefly extend that answer, senator cinema. It is jonathan spalter. And again thank you for your leadership. One part of the solution set, though, is just as the fcc and other federal agencies and this congress is trying to move forward to streamline and speed up deployment and removing obstacles for doing so, that state, local and tribal leaders and governments should be encouraged to do the same. Speeding up permitting, deployment barriers, speeding up every possible efforts, change of control requirements, that do get in the way of of carriers that want to deliver broadband as quickly as theyre able. Were seeing that right now with the Navajo Nation having streamlined a set of permitting Railroad Crossing and other rights of way issues and as a result one provider frontier is moving rapidly to deploy additional broadband to that community. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator cinema. And i wan to thank the witnesses. Mr. Barry, your comment on that final point, although it is not really broadband, i couldnt agree more that my state has over 30 communities where people, american citizens, some of the most patriotic americans in the country because alaska natives like lower 48 indians serve at higher levels in the u. S. Military than any other ethnic group in the country. Very patriotic. But over 30 communities in my state dont have Running Water. Hard to tell people to wash their hands frequently when they dont have Running Water in their communities. So i hope we could get through that and again that should be tribal. Alaska native shareholders and tribes or both become an issue which i think is ridiculous it has become an issue again. I hope some of my democratic colleagues will cease and desist in that regard. But it is all its all help that is needed. I want to thank again the witnesses. I think two important conclusions here, this pandemic has heightened the need even more for the need for broadband. But i think especially in areas, extreme rural areas, tribal areas, native communities and i also believe that you see from this very Interested Group of senators so much participation that there is broad bipartisan support to get this done. So i think that is positive. I want to thank all four of you for your fine testimony and good answers to the questions. The hearing record will remain open for two weeks. During this time senators are asked to submit any questions for the record, upon receipt the witnesses are requested to submit their written answers respectfully to the committee as soon as they can. But by no later than wednesday, june 8th, 2020. Again, i want to thank the witnesses for appearing today. This hearing is now adjourned. Thank you. [ proceedings concluded ] stash stair has unfiltered coverage of the forward response to the coronavirus pandemic. With white house briefings, updates from governors and congressond our daily call in Program Washington journal, hearing your thoughts about the coronavirus crisis. And if you missed any of the live coverage, watch any time on demand at cspan. Org coronavirus. Watch testimony from dr. Rick bright, the former high ranking federal scientists who focus was Vaccine Development and recently removed from his post at the National Institute of health. The house energy and Commerce Committee will hear from dr. Bright during the covid19 response. Watch the hearing live on thursday at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org and listen live on free cspan radio app. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and Public Policy events. From the president ial primaries through the impeachment process, and now the federal response to the coronavirus. You could watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online or listen on our free radio app and be part of the National Conversation through cspan daily Washington Journal Program or through our social media feeds. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. And now the Senate Judiciary Committee Examines the issue of liability amid the coronavirus pandemic, the witnesses are members of the business and tourism industries, the university and law communities and service and employee advocacy groups frxt yesterday