NACEPF and Mobile Beacon issued a statement on the Federal Communication Commission’s vote to begin a new rulemaking to reform the 2.5 GHz Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum today.

NACEPF and its subsidiary Mobile Beacon welcome the Commission’s decision to initiate this EBS proceeding, which has the potential to facilitate 5G wireless deployment and free up additional spectrum for rural deployment. However, we are deeply concerned that the FCC is considering changes that could remove the educational core of this public resource at a time when broadband access for education remains critical. 

For more than 50 years, the FCC has recognized the importance of reserving this spectrum for educational use. NACEPF, like many other EBS licensees, has delivered on that promise —using its EBS spectrum to solve difficult problems like the homework gap. Currently, through Mobile Beacon, 749 schools, 622 libraries, and 4,223 nonprofits across 50 states rely on NACEPF’s EBS service, to support the educational needs of their local communities. 

The US Chamber of Commerce found that among the technologies heralded as a transformative solution for education, broadband has the greatest potential. We look forward to working with the FCC to ensure that the highest and best use of this spectrum includes a focus on education and helping it reach its potential.   

North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to using technology to support lifelong learning and helping people of all ages and abilities reach their potential. As the second largest EBS licensee in the United States, NACEPF’s broadband service, religious and educational programming, and advocacy efforts aim to support education at every level. Learn more at www.nacepf.net.  
 
Mobile Beacon, the service entity of the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF), 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 educational broadband service, organizations have an essential tool to fulfill their missions and maximize their philanthropic impact. Learn more at www.mobilebeacon.org.

NACEPF's subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, submitted comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry released December 1, 2017. Mobile Beacon urged the FCC to recommit to the pro-consumer policies that enabled many different types of service providers to participate in the Lifeline program, and specifically opposed the elimination of the Lifeline Broadband Provider designation and the proposal to limit Lifeline provider eligibility to facilities-based providers. ​

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Katherine Messier, NACEPF’s ​Director of Development, co-authored an Op-Ed in the Philanthropy Journal News:
"All too often, institutions that anchor their communities, like nonprofits, libraries and schools, cannot afford the internet access they so desperately need to serve their communities. While there is no single provider or source that can satisfy all of today’s broadband needs, there is one powerful resource that is working to close this digital divide: Educational Broadband Service (EBS)."

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NACEPF Inc.'s ​sponsored a service trip for eight students and two faculty members at St. Patrick Academy to assist with relief efforts from the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The students spent two days in the towns assisting with cleanup and another day repacking donations at a warehouse in Corpus Christi. 

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In a special presentation at McVinney Auditorium on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., sponsored by St. Patrick’s Academy, Immaculée Ilibagiza will reflect on growing up in a country she loved, surrounded by her family she cherished, until her world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a genocide. But, hers is a triumphant story of a remarkable journey to forgiveness. Today, Ilibagiza is regarded as one of world’s leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. Her visit to Rhode Island was made possible through  a special endowment fund that supports initiatives of peace with help from NACEPF Inc.

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Leadership, benefactors and supporters of Rhode Island Right to Life gathered at Cathedral Square on Wednesday, May 31, to unveil the Ancora Women’s Mobile Care Center, a mobile ultrasound clinic that will provide free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds to women in crisis pregnancies throughout the state. the Mobile Ultrasound Clinic was funded in part by a matching $100,000 grant from NACEPF Inc. in memory of Archbishop George Pearce​.

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Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and public libraries in four Oklahoma towns are joining forces to provide broadband access in rural areas. The Oklahoma public libraries are using NACEPF Inc.'s ​subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, uncapped mobile broadband to provide internet access to rural parts of the state. 

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NACEPF's subsidiary, Mobile Beacon is accepting applications for its Connect for Success grants. The grants provide up to 25 laptops and 25 4G LTE mobile hotspots with free, mobile, and unlimited 4G LTE internet access for one year, which is valued at $20,000. All eligible schools, colleges and universities are encouraged to apply. 

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NACEPF's, subsidiary​, Mobile Beacon announced today that it has chosen Chelsea District Library in Chelsea, MI and Bartram High School in Philadelphia, PA as the recipients of its Wi-Fly Lending Launch Kit grant for educators. The grants provide 25 laptops, 25 4G LTE mobile hotspots, and free, mobile, unlimited 4G LTE internet access for one year to each organization to reach students and families in their communities who presently have limited or no access to technology in their homes.

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