Overview

• The commission voted Tuesday in two separate 2–1 decisions to terminate discounts for library hotspot lending and to overturn 2023 funding for Wi‑Fi on school buses.
• Chair Brendan Carr argued the expansions lacked legal authority and invited waste, fraud, and abuse, calling bus Wi‑Fi an illegal subsidy for unsupervised screen time.
• Commissioner Gomez dissented, citing congressional authority to expand supported services and pointing to past E‑Rate precedents such as bookmobiles and wireless use on buses.
• Senate Democrats led by Ed Markey urged the FCC to preserve the subsidies and criticized the one‑week public notice for the vote as a break from the typical three‑week window.
• Library and broadband advocates warned the rollback will worsen the digital divide for students and rural or low‑income residents, noting AP data show E‑Rate serves over 12,500 libraries and 106,000 schools.