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Commentary After nearly four months of work, the FCC's Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBBP) is poised to launch. Nearly 750 providers are qualified to offer EBB-supported services, with discounts of up to $50 per subscriber ($75 in tribal areas) and equipment reimbursement of up to $100 available. The FCC recently conducted a webinar for consumer groups and outreach partners about the program, and USAC has been testing connectivity with eligible providers for the past couple of weeks. Earlier today, the FCC announced that the EBBP will launch on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Providers parti...

Commentary In March, the FCC and USAC worked hard to stand up the first of three pandemic-related special programs, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBBP). Rules for the $3.2 billion EBBP were adopted in February and the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) issued milestones in March for ETC election notices, non-ETC applications and applications to use alternative verification systems. Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel said in mid-March that over 100 applications or election notices were filed (we believe the number is much higher now); clearly the program is attracting a lot of interes...

The stimulus includes a child tax credit for parents to get up to $3,600 per child. Some Democrats are starting to call it "Social Security for kids."

Article content I read with much interest the two articles in last Tuesday’s Vancouver Sun, ‘Burnout besets pandemic front lines‘ and ‘The pandemic has taken a toll on those who care for seniors‘. While the authors have stated the obvious, they tell only half the story. What was missing was how the system and staff can decrease and/or prevent burnout. The authors did not provide a definition of burnout, and facilities vary in the degree of burnout. One good definition: “A prolonged state of physical and mental exhaustion, usually due to long-term exposure to a high-pressure atmosp...

300,000 applicants still waiting for BC recovery benefit SHARE ON: The wait continues for hundreds of thousands of people hoping to get the BC recovery benefit. The province’s finance ministry says around 300,000 applications are being reviewed manually by staff. “As of Friday’s overnight run, we have processed over 226,000 applications that were formally on hold for review,” said ministry communications manager, Sonia Lowe. Promised by the NDP government during last October’s election, the one-time tax-free payment offers up to $1,000 for eligible families and $500 for individuals....