More From Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rootmetrics Says AT&T Leads, Applause for House Passing Chips Act
The FCC announced an additional $126 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
Ashlan Gruwell
February 9, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission announced Tuesday that it has allocated an additional $126 million for connecting students, schools, and libraries to the internet, bringing the total amount the FCC has put towards this cause to $4.5 billion.
The Tuesday press release said these funds will be pulled from the Emergency Connectivity Fund to connect 270,000 students, 340 schools, 20 libraries, and 6 consortia. The release came shortly after the FCC’s announcement of a new task force to combat digital discrimination.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in the release that the funds will bring “more connectivity to students and libraries in our communities, helping to close the Homework Gap” and that its overall goal is “to support success in the digital age, no matter who you are, or where you live.”
RootMetrics report has AT&T as fastest carrier
AT&T was the most reliable, the fastest, and had the best data performance out of the U.S.’s three major providers, according to a Tuesday report from data company RootMetrics.
The report charts the performance of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T during the second half of 2021. The data is collected from three million tests and puts AT&T as the top mobile carrier in the US. Other reports have put T-Mobile on top.
According to RootMetrics, AT&T shared the first-place spot with Verizon in terms of overall experience and call and text capabilities, meaning that out of the seven categories, AT&T came out on top for six of them.
Industry, businesses applaud House passage of chips funding legislation
Businesses leaders and organizations are applauding the passage earlier this month of the America Competes Act by the House of Representatives, urging the Senate to follow suit and push it forward to President Joe Biden’s desk for signing.
In a Department of Commerce press release on February 4, businesses including Ford and SkyWater Technology and the Semiconductor Industry Association spoke in statements about the importance of the bill, which puts $52 billion toward funding for semiconductor chip manufacturing, whose supply has been hampered by a global supply chain crisis.
“House passage of CHIPS Act investments is a significant step toward strengthening America’s leadership in semiconductors, which are foundational to our economy, national security, and global leadership in the transformative technologies of now and the future,” said the SIA in the release.
“We urge leaders in the House and Senate to work together promptly on a bipartisan, bicameral competitiveness bill containing CHIPS Act investments that can be passed by both chambers and signed into law by the president,” the SIA statement continued. “Getting this legislation across the finish line will help strengthen U.S. chip production and innovation for many years to come.”
