NACEPF and its subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, are members of the 4 Competition Coalition against the Sprint and T Mobile merger. Recently, both organizations signed onto an open letter against the proposed merger. Below is an excerpt of the letter with a link to the full text. 

"The 24 signatories below represent a diverse group of companies, trade associations, labor organizations and public interest groups, united in opposing the above-captioned merger.

Nearly one year ago, T-Mobile announced plans to acquire Sprint. If allowed to proceed, this transaction would consolidate the nation’s wireless market from four to just three carriers, lead to price increases for virtually all wireless customers, substantially raise wholesale rates for smaller wireless carriers, and cause significant job losses – all while failing to deliver the promised benefits of accelerated 5G deployment or expanded rural coverage. The parties have had more than 11 months to make a convincing argument that their deal is in the public interest and that it will not harm competition. To date, they have failed to make this case. The evidence is clear: This deal as currently proposed is bad for consumers, workers and competition and we urge you to reject it."

Read more at 4competitioncoalition.org.

​“I thank the SHLB Coalition for organizing this briefing to educate our policymakers about the ways Educational Broadband Service (EBS) is being used today to provide much-needed broadband access to anchor institutions, students, low-income families, and rural Americans.

Today, EBS remains the only licensed spectrum available for educational institutions to connect their communities. In areas where EBS has been licensed, EBS licensees are connecting tens of thousands of schools, libraries, and other anchor institutions, and through them, millions of students and families not served by commercial broadband offers. However, for over 20 years, the FCC has not made EBS spectrum available in nearly 50% of the U.S., mostly in rural communities.

Now that the FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band, this previously unlicensed EBS spectrum will finally be made available. Chairman Pai has proposed granting priority windows for educators and Tribal Nations to apply for unlicensed EBS spectrum. Unfortunately, others at the Commission are proposing auctioning EBS to commercial entities that already have access to over 600 MHz of spectrum below 3 GHz, but are not serving these same mostly rural areas. The Commission is also considering removing educational eligibility and use requirements that are critical to delivering educational benefits, which jeopardizes the sustainability of existing programs and levels of service that EBS licensees provide today.

At a time when broadband access for education has never been more vital to how we learn and communicate, the costs of being disconnected have never been higher. Spectrum policy matters—particularly for rural Americans and others who fall on the wrong side of the digital divide. The persistent, digital divide in both urban and rural America is evidence that commercial providers, on their own, have not and will not close the digital divide. 

When it comes to closing the digital divide and homework gap, there is no silver bullet. E-rate funding stops short of providing connectivity to students at home. Most commercial providers are opting not to participate in Lifeline, and commercial programs such as Internet Essentials are helpful but will not reach everyone. We need our policymakers to ensure diverse spectrum policies that bring multiple stakeholders together and drive multiple approaches and solutions to reach the unserved. Otherwise, we will lose one of the most effective tools we have to close the digital divide.”

- Katherine Messier, Director of Development for NACEPF and Founder and Executive Director of Mobile Beacon, is a panelist at Windows of Opportunity: How EBS Spectrum Can Close the Digital Divide today, March 7th at 12 PM EST in Capitol Visitor Center, SVC 209-08
United States. 

​School advocates hope that a proposal under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission to tap into a largely unused portion of broadband spectrum will boost students’ access to high-speed internet connectivity.

The FCC is considering an array of ideas that it says will overhaul and “rationalize” outdated regulations for how the spectrum is governed, so that it could be put to better use and promote next-generation wireless broadband use. The ideas floated by the commission—in a notice put out for public comment last year—include changing how spectrum licenses are assigned by the FCC, and allowing auctions of unused spectrum.

The proposal also seeks to free up the Educational Broadband Service’s 2.5 GHz frequency band for commercial broadband services in rural areas. This frequency band, the largest band of contiguous spectrum below 3 GHz, is meant to serve primarily an educational purpose.

Read the full article at EdWeek.org.

Mobile Beacon's Executive Director and NACEPF's Director of Development, Katherine Messier and Rural Wireless Association's General Counsel, Carri Bennet penned an op-ed in support of connectivity for Rural America.  This op-ed was published on Morning Consult on February 14th. 

One of the central challenges facing our country today is the growing divide between rural and urban America. As many economists have noted, rural areas are increasingly lacking the opportunities for job creation and growth that are found in our big cities.

That gap is bad for our economy and society. Closing it will require a wide range of initiatives, investments and policies that promote ongoing, innovative public-partnerships like those that exist today with educational entities who lease their 2.5 GHz spectrum to Sprint in exchange for broadband service and equipment to serve students, low-income families, and anchor institutions in their communities. These are the unserved and underserved populations that are left behind in the digital economy.

Mobile broadband is the essential infrastructure component to ensure rural communities can participate in the modern economy. Unfortunately, the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger takes rural America in the wrong direction, threatening to reduce rural access to affordable, reliable, high-speed wireless data connections at a time when we need to be expanding it.

Read the full article at MorningConsult.com

​Five new organizations line up to dispute T-Mobile claims that merger will benefit rural Americans and call on regulators to reject the deal

Washington, D.C., January 24, 2019 – More wireless companies serving predominantly rural consumers today joined the 4Competition Coalition, illustrating the growing opposition to the Sprint/T-Mobile merger from rural businesses and advocates.

Western New York-based Blue Wireless and Alabama-based Pine Belt Cellular announced their opposition to the deal, as did Mobile Beacon, a wireless provider that serves more than 450,000 Americans through anchor institutions like schools and libraries in many rural and unserved areas. Telsasoft, which provides network management services to rural carriers across the country, and the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF) also joined the Coalition. 

Read the full release here. 

Several Democratic senators voiced concern today over impacts of T-Mobile’s $26 billion agreement to acquire rival wireless service provider Sprint, and requested a hearing on the merger. At the same time, rural wireless carriers expressed their opposition to the deal.
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In a letter to chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Tom Udall, D-N.M., Tammy Baldwin D-Wis., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. expressed their concerns over the potential merger, and urged the committee to hold a hearing on whether the merger would have the benefits that the companies have claimed.
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Read more at MeriTalk.com.

The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, recently joined the 4Competition Coalition. Read the full announcement here. ​

Opposition to T-Mobile’s proposed merger with Sprint is growing. A group of five Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee urging them to hold a hearing to examine the potential impact of the deal on consumer choice and competition in the wireless market.

“The merger of T-Mobile and Sprint would reduce the number of national wireless carriers from four to three. This reduction in competition raises a number of important questions that the committee should address,” wrote Sens. Edward Markey, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Udall, Tammy Baldwin and Richard Blumenthal.
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Read more at FierceWireless.com

Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel continued her backing of an incentive auction for Educational Broadband Service licenses at 2.5 GHz at a forum in Washington, D.C., framing it as a compromise option to “honor” the intent for educational use in the band while avoiding “collapsing” the current ecosystem.

At an event hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance (video here), Rosenworcel outlined her proposal that an incentive auction be held for the EBS spectrum and the resulting funds dedicated to expanding students’ access to broadband services which are often needed to access and complete homework. She pointed to local initiatives such as mobile hot spot loans from K-12 schools, or Wi-Fi access points installed in school busses, as examples of programs that could potentially be supported or expanded.
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Read more at RCRWireless.com.

“Today, educators across the country are utilizing EBS spectrum to solve the persistent challenges that prevent millions of Americans from getting online and engaging in our digital society. The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF), the 2nd largest EBS licensee in the United States, and its subsidiary Mobile Beacon work side by side with the schools, libraries, and anchor institutions developing programs to address the digital divide and homework gap.
 
Mobile Beacon provides one of the most robust, affordable, digitally-inclusive broadband offers available today. Mobile Beacon’s service currently supports 850 schools, 920 public libraries, and 4,660 nonprofit organizations across the country. These community anchor institutions rely on this service to accomplish their educational missions. Nearly 100 Mobile Beacon customers told the FCC that without their EBS service, they would have to either forgo broadband or cut existing program offerings to pay for more expensive commercial service.
 
There is no silver bullet to solve problems as widespread and persistent as the homework gap. We can’t afford to rely only on auctioning spectrum to commercial carriers to solve these problems. Educational organizations should also be given an opportunity to license spectrum and use it to serve their communities.
 
At a time when broadband access for education has never been more critical, the FCC should not commercialize the only spectrum band with nearly 50 year legacy of providing vital resources to the education community. The Commission should not put existing EBS programs at risk, nor should it give up on one of the most effective tools it has to address inequalities of access.”

- Katherine Messier, Director of Development for NACEPF and Founder and Executive Director of Mobile Beacon, spoke at the Internet Innovation Alliance’s event, “Can Auctioning the 2.5 GHz EBS Spectrum Band Help Close the Homework Gap?”, on January 22, 2019.
  
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About NACEPF: North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) is a Rhode Island-based 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and the second largest Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licensee in the United States. NACEPF’s broadband service, religious and educational programming, and advocacy efforts support education at every level. NACEPF’s worldwide philanthropic efforts focus on providing access to the resources essential to human development and well-being. This includes access to healthy food, clean water, safe housing, education, healthcare, and faith-based services. NACEPF’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, broadband service to educational, nonprofit, and community anchor institutions throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.nacepf.net.
 
About Mobile Beacon: Mobile Beacon provides high-speed, low-cost, mobile internet access to the anchors of communities: the nonprofits, schools, libraries, and healthcare organizations that provide vital services to millions of Americans every day. Through this broadband service, organizations have an essential tool to fulfill their missions and maximize their philanthropic impact, which allows organizations to access more information, reach more people, and help more in their communities. Learn more at www.mobilebeacon.org.

The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF), a nonprofit focused on supporting education and lifelong learning, and buildOn, a nonprofit focused on breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education, broke ground on the first of 10 new schools in developing countries in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, and Asia. After successfully building 10 schools over the last year, NACEPF and buildOn have pledged to build 10 more together over the next year.
 
Katherine Messier, Director of Development for NACEPF, said, “We believe that education is a basic human right. Over the past 29 years, NACEPF has focused on meeting the technology needs of schools both in and out of the classroom across the United States. We also have a long history of supporting charitable programs all over the world. This has made us keenly aware that in many parts of the world, children have no access to formal education at all or have to overcome extreme obstacles just to attend class. 
After an introduction to buildOn from a family member who went on Trek to build a school in Nicaragua, we discovered buildOn’s mission and ethos perfectly aligns with NACEPF’s commitment to changing our world through education and service. We are honored to continue this strong partnership to make a long-lasting impact."

The new schools will enhance educational conditions for students in areas facing obstacles such as illiteracy, poverty, insufficient school structures, and dangerous environmental conditions making it difficult to travel to school. These 10 new schools will be completed by the Summer of 2019, providing access to educational resources and improving the lives of more than 1,300 students. The partnership between NACEPF and buildOn will make educational opportunities available to thousands of children and adults worldwide.
 
"Through our continued partnership with NACEPF and their dedication to buildOn's mission, together we have worked with rural community members across three different continents to build schools,” Jim Ziolkowski Founder, President and CEO of buildOn said. “By building 10 schools across Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, Nepal, and Senegal in 2017/18 we have brought the power of education to 1,326 primary school students -- 713 of those students being girls. With education, comes equality. We could not be more thrilled that NACEPF has decided to continue to partner with buildOn by again committing to build another 10 schools in 2018/19. NACEPF’s impact is tremendous. We are honored to call NACEPF not only a partner, but part of the buildOn family."
 
Last year, NACEPF funded the building of 10 schools throughout Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Haiti, Mali, and Nepal, which helped improve the lives of 1,326 students and will continue to do so for many years. These new schools give students the ability to learn in a secure and safe environment. Since its existence, buildOn and other partners have built more than 1,334 schools around the world.
 
If you wish to learn more about NACEPF or buildOn, please visit their websites, http://www.nacepf.net/ and https://www.buildon.org/.
 
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About NACEPF: North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) is a Rhode Island-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the second largest Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licensee in the United States. NACEPF’s broadband service, religious and educational programming, and advocacy efforts support education at every level. NACEPF’s worldwide philanthropic efforts focus on providing access to the resources essential to human development and well-being. This includes access to healthy food, clean water, safe housing, education, healthcare, and faith-based services. NACEPF’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, broadband service to educational, nonprofit, and community anchor institutions throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.nacepf.net.
 
 
About buildOn: At home or abroad, buildOn's goal is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. Across the U.S., buildOn empowers urban youth to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service -- working with senior citizens, the homeless, and younger children. These same students help build schools in some of the economically poorest countries in the world. Our students have contributed more than 2.2 million hours of service in the U.S., and have helped build over 1,351 schools in Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nepal, Senegal, Malawi, and Mali. For more information, visit www.buildon.org. buildOn has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.