Mobile Citizen welcomes new research from the Schools Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition and Dr. Raul Katz that clearly demonstrates the economic benefits of awarding the remaining wireless Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licenses to Tribal Nations and educational institutions. This research supports what Mobile Citizen and its customers have always known — licensing the remaining EBS licenses to nonprofits, schools and Tribal Nations is the most effective way to use this public resource to address the digital divide and homework gap.
Key findings from the research indicate that this model would:
- Reduce the digital divide by 18 percent, providing internet access to over 8.3 million individuals.
- Increase the national GDP by $70.93 billion, providing a significant boost to the U.S. economy, especially in rural areas.
- Reduce the rural homework gap by nearly 30%, connecting approximately 196,000 more rural students.
- Increase the number of high school graduates by over 66,000 students.
EBS is the reason Mobile Citizen is able to provide affordable internet access to schools, nonprofits and social welfare agencies. As strong believers that making internet access available at an affordable price is necessary for true social equity, Mobile Citizen urges the FCC to consider this research as it decides how to regulate this vital public resource going forward.
Learn more about EBS and how you can help ensure its used in the best way possible at saveebs.org.