Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Net neutrality's revival is sucking all the air out of the room, but the FCC on Thursday approved other key items.
Why it matters: While a deadlocked FCC stayed busy implementing pandemic-era internet connection programs, a variety of Democratic goals were put on hold — until now.
- Thursday marked Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez's first open meeting, and she delivered remarks in both English and Spanish in a nod to the Hispanic advocacy organizations that fought to have Latino representation at the agency.
Here's a rundown of what else the FCC tackled Thursday.
1. Democrats voted to make WiFi on school buses eligible for E-Rate funding, which until now was reserved for classrooms and libraries.
- Republicans say they're worried the program expansion will result in the government subsidizing children's unsupervised use of TikTok and Instagram, and introduced legislation this week aimed at preventing that outcome.
- FCC Republican commissioner Brendan Carr said that "given the lack of data" he would have voted to seek feedback on this move instead of going straight to implementing it.
- Further, E-Rate is part of the Universal Service Fund, which many agree is in dire need of overhaul, including its contribution mechanism.
- "We cannot continue to spend other people's money in this way without a real conversation at this agency about reform," Carr said.
2. Commissioners unanimously voted to seek feedback on the agency's plan to improve maternal health data and user experience of the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform.
- The map, which was last updated in June, is a tool to help address maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.
- "The United States is the only industrialized country with a rising level of maternal mortality. And deaths from pregnancy-related causes strike women of color and those who live in rural communities especially hard," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said.
3. Commissioners unanimously voted to free up some 6GHz band spectrum for very low power devices.
- Augmented reality and virtual reality devices will benefit.
- "We commend the FCC decision to allow companies like ours to use new wireless technologies to build the next wave of computing," said Meta vice president of North America policy Kevin Martin. "This is a shining example of a government regulator working with industry early to build for the future. We're pleased to continue taking part in these important discussions, here and around the world."
Of note: Commissioners also unanimously agreed to get feedback on continuing to fund phone service in Alaska, improve emergency alerts (in part by making them available in different languages), and make TV more accessible to people who are visually impaired by expanding audio description requirements.
