[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] this hearing will come to water. Welcome, welcome. Today the committee convenes to broadband during the covid19 pandemic. I extend my appreciation for my colleagues attentions attendance and participation. I welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses. Mr. Y we will hear from stephen barry, president and chief executive officer of the competitive cares organization and the chief executive officer of the Rural Broadband association. Mr. Gene kimmelman, Senior Advisor on public knowledge, who will be appearing, testifying remotely. Jonathan spalter, of u. S. T and ceo broad,. Covid19 crisis has changed life dramatically for almost every american. As the administration and the centers for Disease Control and prevention encourage social distancing to prevent spread of the virus, normal activities like work, school, Healthcare Services are increasingly 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 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 modificiations 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 cares 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 healthcare providers, to support their broadband needs. The cares 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 our 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 pandemic, 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 broad 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, healthcare, 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 American ss 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 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 35 of households with schoolage children and income below 30,000 do not have access to high Speed Internet at home. 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 the 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 healthcare during this crisis. Covid19 has changed the Healthcare 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 Healthcare 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 has 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 healthcare 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. Gap 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 berry. Mr. Berry, you are recognized. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Is this can you hear . Is this on . Ok. 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. As the country faces the largest Public Health crisis of our lifetime, 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. Tethering 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. I also applause the fcc for helping 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 sites 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, 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 a technologyneutral 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 cares 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. I congratulate 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 the chairman 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 ntca, the Rural Broadband association. And 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 countr