Books and ebooks are sold. And now todays Senate Commerce committee hearing, lawmakers examine the effect the pandemic is having on keeping rural is having on keeping Rural Communities connected via broadband. From this morning, this is about 2 1 2. Come to order. Welcome, welcome. Today, the committee convenes to discuss the state of broadband and thank them for appears. Today, we will hear from mr. Steven berry, and miss shirley bloomfield. Chief executive officer of mtca, the Rural Broadband association. Mr. Gene kimmerman who will be appearing and testifying remotely and mr. Jonathan spolter. As the administration and centers for Disease Control and prevention encourage social distancing to prevent the further spread of the virus, normal activities like school and Health Care Services are kreinsingly taking place online. This has caused a huge uptick in the use of broadband. One estimate shows average Broadband Usage is up by 47 since the pandemic began. Good news is that theres be