For a decade, libraries have been lending portable wifi hotspots to residents so that students, families, job seekers, elderly people applying for social security or checking the latest photos of their distant grandchildren all have equitable access to the internet even after library hours.
The program was expanded in 2024 when the FCC authorized new purchases in more regions with spotty access to the internet. In the first months of the program, 1,762 libraries serving more than 40 million people applied for hotspots. Districts installed hot spots on school busses in rural areas where kids' trips to and from school can be an hour or more and bus time was also homework time.
The current Senate voted to rescind funding for the program but the bill to rescind hasn't yet passed the House. In the meantime, the new chair of the FCC has proposed rules that would do what congress has not yet done – terminate the funding. Some of the reasons given for ending funding for wifi access that is not otherwise available seem, at best, a stretch (dangers to children... censorship of conservative ideas on the internet. What?)
Internet providers and politicians supporting those providers hold tremendous power over whether tens of thousands of families can access the internet at home. In 2025, the internet is still not considered a basic resource for everyone.
Those of us who advocate for equitable access to the resources needed to do well in school, to apply for jobs, to apply for federal programs, to stay in touch with distant family? We may want to exercise our power as citizens to contact our representatives in congress on behalf of the restoration of this program.
