"Students who rely on long bus rides to complete assignments and library patrons who depend on hotspots for work, education, or telehealth will suddenly lose access to essential tools. This decision is a step backward."
"Chairman Carr's cruel move to delete our kids' Internet connections won't make America smarter."
"The FCC "openly voted to snatch back the opportunity to offer more Americans, especially in rural areas, the high-speed Internet access to do the business of life online-pay bills, make telehealth appointments, fill out school applications-after the library closes,""
"Congress gave the FCC permission to expand the applications of E-Rate funding as the technologies used to educate children evolve."
The FCC voted to remove E-Rate funding for mobile and hotspot programs that provided Wi-Fi on school buses and library loaner devices. Advocacy groups said students relying on long bus rides to complete assignments and library patrons using hotspots for work, education, or telehealth will lose access to essential tools. Examples cited include Farmington Municipal Schools equipping 90 buses with Wi-Fi serving over 6,500 students daily and Brown County Public Library's hotspot program supporting homeschool families, entrepreneurs, and veterans' telehealth appointments. Critics also raised concerns about lack of due process and disputed the FCC's legal rationale for the change.
Read at Ars Technica
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