Verizon, CTIA Lobby FCC Staff on ECF

The FCC should "adopt simple guard rails" for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, Verizon told FCC Wireline Bureau staff, per a posting Friday in docket 21-93 (see 2104260070). Rules should include per-school budgets based on the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunch "to support students who would not otherwise have broadband at home" and should limit the share of funds "for potentially costly connected devices," like laptops and tablets, Verizon said. CTIA also met with Wireline Bureau staff, asking for smartphones to be considered eligible. CTIA wanted ECF support to be limited to services and devices "not already being funded by other federal or state funding sources" to ensure money is "distributed efficiently and effectively." The agency is proposing to not include smartphones (see 2104300084).