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. Read more at FierceWireless.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. ### 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. NACEPF and Mobile Beacon Reply Comments in Response to FCC’s NPRM, Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band9/7/2018
The North American Catholic Programming Education Foundation (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon submitted additional reply comments on September 7, 2018, in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band.
NACEPF and Mobile Beacon applaud the Commission for initiating this proceeding to license new EBS spectrum in areas that have long gone unserved by the commercial sector, and modernize the EBS band to ensure educational benefits keep pace with advances in technology. It is critical, however, that the Commission act based on the record of evidence, not on unsubstantiated rhetoric, and with a full understanding of the history and accomplishments of the EBS band. The record is clear. Today, EBS is connecting tens of thousands of schools, libraries, and other anchor institutions and, through them, millions of students, families, and lifelong learners that would not otherwise be reached by comparable commercial broadband offerings. The record is also clear that, if EBS remains educational, tremendous opportunities exist for EBS to serve students and communities that remain unconnected at a time when (a) internet access has never been more important as a platform for learning and opportunity, and (b) the educational sector has demonstrated the technological sophistication to fully utilize this spectrum, with or without a commercial partner. Read the full comments here. NACEPF and Mobile Beacon Submit Comments in Response to FCC’s NPRM, Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band8/9/2018
The North American Catholic Programming Education Foundation (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon submitted comments on August 8, 2018, in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band. 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, free up additional spectrum for rural deployment, and close the digital divide. However, some of the Commission’s proposals, if taken together, would effectively eliminate education from the EBS band. We submit that the Commission need not abandon its long commitment to educational use to achieve its objectives.
NACEPF has licensed Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum in 51 markets across the U.S., including 9 large metropolitan areas, 18 mid-size markets, and 24 rural, underserved parts of the country. Mobile Beacon, as the service organization of NACEPF, provides EBS service to 799 schools, 739 libraries, and 4,322 nonprofits across the country. These organizations often use Mobile Beacon’s broadband service to expand program services in their communities and help meet the broadband needs of their constituents and program beneficiaries. We estimate that anchor institutions are using Mobile Beacon’s internet service to benefit more than 425,000 individuals throughout the United States. Without any reliance on the universal service fund or other government subsidy program, Mobile Beacon’s service is helping to close the “homework gap”, reach underserved communities, and expand access to lifelong learning, fulfilling the objectives the FCC had over 50 years ago when they reserved the EBS spectrum for educational use. NACEPF and Mobile Beacon support the Commission’s decision to end the decades-long filing freeze for new EBS licenses, and we urge it to adopt rules that will quickly put unused EBS spectrum into the hands of currently eligible educational and nonprofit entities who will use it to achieve its highest and best use. We look forward to working with the Commission and other commenters in this proceeding to reform and revitalize the EBS band to advance educational and commercial broadband across the country. Mobile Beacon's Bridging the Gap part of tech distribution to low-income Colorado families5/16/2018
NACEPF's subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, and partner PCs for People hosted a Bridging the Gap distribution event in La Junta, CO (a NACEPF market).
Bridging the Gap, a charitable initiative of PCs for People and Johnston-based internet service provider Mobile Beacon, hosted a computer and mobile-hotspot distribution event May 11 in La Junta, Colo., and will hold another one in Aurora, Colo., May 22. The events are aimed at helping low-income families gain technological tools, Mobile Beacon said in a press release. On May 11, 170 computers, 85 mobile hotspots – provided by Mobile Beacon – and three months of unlimited internet service were distributed to select low-income students and families living 200 percent below the poverty level, said Mobile Beacon, which also provided financial backing for the events. READ THE FULL ARTICLE On the books for the FCC’s May Open Meeting will be a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding rule changes to establish commercial eligibility for Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licenses and to “rationalize” the EBS service areas. EBS is not a well-known radio service, so to appreciate the significance of these changes, a little history is in order.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE 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.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE 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.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE Mobile Beacon Awards Digital Inclusion Grants to Chelsea District Library & Bartram High School11/21/2016
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.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE NACEPF's subsidiary, Mobile Beacon created Bridging the Gap with national digital inclusion nonprofit, PCs for People. Bridging the Gap along with the help of a few community-focused organizations, will provide free computers and Internet hotspot devices to 100 Greenlee families. The computers and hotspots will be distributed to the students’ families on Wednesday, November 9, at 5:30pm, at the school’s campus at 1150 Lipan St.
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