Good news from the FCC! Commission rules prohibit entities eligible for the RHC and E-Rate programs from soliciting or accepting anything of value from a service provider participating or seeking to participate in those programs. Today's waiver will allow health care providers, schools, and libraries to accept improved capacity, Wi-Fi hotspots, networking gear, or other equipment or services to support doctors and patients, teachers and students, and librarians and patrons during the coronavirus outbreak. For example, some providers have expressed interest in providing free network upgrades for hospitals that need more robust connections to treat patients via telemedicine and free connected devices and hotspots for students who will be taking classes at home. This waiver will enable them to do such things. Sonya Schryer Norris Library Consultant Library of Michigan Michigan Department of Education 517-335-1498 Norriss2@michigan.gov<mailto:Norriss2@michigan.gov> https://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan https://mel.org<https://mel.org/> http://michlibrary.org<http://michlibrary.org/> [cid:image001.png@01D5FD39.EA89A4B0]
