North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation Inc. (NACEPF) is sad to announce the passing of our former Vice President, Barbara Primeau. Barbara served as the Vice President and Director of NACEPF for 32 years. 

Her intelligence, selflessness, faith, and passion were instrumental in building NACEPF. Her numerous responsibilities included helping to produce NACEPF's educational newsletter, selecting qualified teachers for NACEPF's distance learning courses, and sharing the impact of NACEPF's mission. She was deeply involved in the organization's ministry efforts, and she championed many of NACEPF's philanthropic programs including building schools, providing healthcare, and feeding children in some of the poorest areas of the world. She often said, “children cannot learn on an empty stomach.” As a former social worker, her dedication to helping people realize their full potential guided her as she led with both practicality and compassion. 

Barbara was beloved in our community and we are all mourning the immense loss. We invite you to read what some of our partners shared about Barbara.

Full details about her life and services can be found here. 

​The North American Catholic Programming Education Foundation (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon submitted comments on May 4, 2021, in response to the Federal Communications Commission in the Matter of  Auction of Flexible-Use Service Licenses in the 2.5 GHz Band for  Next-Generation Wireless Services.
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Read the full comments here.

Johnston, RI – The educational nonprofit, North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF), and its subsidiary Mobile Beacon are proud to announce the donation of over $400,000 to support the educational programs of buildOn. buildOn empowers U.S. youth to transform their neighborhoods and the world through intensive community service. Globally, they’re constructing a new school every two days in some of the economically poorest countries around the world.

This year, NACEPF committed to building 10 additional primary schools and financially supporting the establishment of 14 adult literacy programs in Mali, Malawi, Senegal, Nepal, and Haiti. Mobile Beacon is funding the service-learning series that occurs in 28 high schools in six under-served urban regions across the country. buildOn’s Service Learning Programs empower students to become leaders in their communities by exploring the challenges they face and developing solutions through volunteer service.

Read the full press release. ​

“The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon are gravely concerned about the long-term consequences of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s decision today to dismantle the last 50+ years of public policy that designated a modest portion of licensed spectrum to educational entities to serve their communities. This Order not only abandons that policy but also ignores the record. 95% of all individuals and organizations that submitted comments in this proceeding supported keeping EBS educational and provided abundant examples of ways existing EBS programs are closing the digital divide throughout the U.S. today.
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The consequences of this vote are too serious to get lost in the 5G hype. In the last decade, every time the FCC has granted an EBS waiver to an educational institution or tribal entity, those entities built networks that provide more affordable internet access to more rural Americans than anything available directly from the commercial sector. This is a stunning success record. Educational institutions and tribes have produced better results in less time, with less spectrum, and with less financial resources than the very providers that already hold 625 MHz of spectrum below 3 GHz, which is not being deployed in these same rural areas. While we’re pleased the FCC moved forward with a priority window for tribes, this Order unreasonably ‘declined’ to give new, rural educational institutions the opportunity to replicate these successes in the future.
Read the full statement here. ​

“We are currently reviewing Commissioner Carr’s letter and we will respond appropriately. In the meantime, I note that NACEPF and Mobile Beacon have already provided the Commission with extensive information about the scope and depth of our existing programs, which specifically and successfully provide broadband for educational purposes, not only in our licensed market areas but throughout all 50 states. Moreover, over 95% of all organizations and individuals that filed comments in this proceeding have told the Commission to preserve EBS for education, many detailing various ways they are using Mobile Beacon’s service to support education throughout the U.S.
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Today, our broadband service is used by 830 schools, 1019 public libraries, and 4880 nonprofits to benefit students of all ages and abilities. We’ve been innovators and leaders in developing programs that specifically address the homework gap and digital divide. We pioneered the library hotspot lending model which enables patrons without home internet access to “check-out” the internet so they are not limited to library hours for access to technology. Schools are using our EBS service to provide WiFi on school buses, off-campus connectivity for student-athletes as well as hospitalized children, to keep classrooms running in the wake of natural disasters, and to provide home connectivity for low-income families that cannot afford commercial rates.
Read the full statement here. ​

The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon vehemently oppose the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s draft Order regarding Educational Broadband Service (EBS). The proposed Order strips away the educational core of the band, threatens the long-term sustainability of existing programs that serve more than 450,000 low-income and rural Americans today, and jeopardizes the ability for the FCC to accomplish their goals of a fast 5G deployment, closing the digital divide, and connecting rural America.
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“With the release of this draft Order, the FCC defies the unanimous recommendations of the educational community, public interest groups, rural educators, the U.S. Department of Education, and Congress to preserve the educational and public interest benefits of this spectrum. Through this proceeding, the FCC had an opportunity to immediately put midband spectrum to use through licensing to educational entities that are committed to closing the digital divide in remote areas long underserved by the commercial sector. Instead, the FCC will delay 5G and rural deployment through a lengthy auction process that will only result in the spectrum being controlled by the same commercial entities that have already been given access to 625 MHz of spectrum below 3 GHz that they are not using to serve these same rural areas.
Read the full statement here. ​

“We are deeply concerned by the Federal Communication Commission  (FCC) Chairman’s blog regarding 2.5 GHz Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum. Flying in the face of unanimous support on the record from Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, public interest groups, and educational associations to preserve the public interest benefits of this spectrum, the FCC is moving forward with a radical policy change that would eliminate the only remaining broadband spectrum reserved for educational use and the public interest.
We disagree with the Chairman’s assessment in his blog that much of this public resource has been unused for decades. The only EBS spectrum unused today is that which the FCC has failed to license for more than two decades, depriving rural educators and families of access to a resource that has successfully connected tens of thousands of schools, libraries, and other anchor institutions, and through them, millions of students and families not served by commercial broadband offers…
Read the full statement. ​

The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon applaud the recent ex parte letter from the U.S. Department of Education, which was filed in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s rulemaking docket, Transforming the 2.5 GHz Band.  We agree with the Department of Education’s assessment that “EBS is a valuable tool available to educational institutions to close the homework gap,” and their recommendation to maintain educational eligibility to hold an EBS license, modernize the current educational requirements, rationalize existing licensed areas to county boundaries, and issue new EBS licenses using priority windows for tribes and educational entities.
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“We appreciate that another federal agency has carefully reviewed both the FCC’s proposals regarding EBS spectrum and the record in this docket to reach its conclusion that the FCC should preserve the educational nature of this spectrum band, but modernize the rules to promote more lifelong learning opportunities,” said Katherine Messier, Executive Director, Mobile Beacon. “We agree with the U.S. Department of Education that EBS is a vital resource to provide broadband access to rural communities and tribal lands where too many Americans remain trapped in the digital divide. The FCC should not eliminate a proven tool for combating the digital divide at a time when broadband for education has never been more important.”
Read the full statement here. 

Following Chairman Pai and Commission Carr’s statements of support for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) and Mobile Beacon issued the following statement from Katherine Messier, Executive Director.
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“It is deeply concerning to us that FCC regulators would express support for a merger absent any structural remedies, like 2.5 GHz spectrum divestiture. Giving New T-Mobile control of virtually all of the 2.5 GHz band would result in a very different situation than what exists today with Sprint. There is undisputed evidence on the record that Sprint has a far superior track record than T-Mobile for entering into mutually-beneficial MVNO deals with rural operators that enable both parties to roam onto the others’ network. Sprint also has over 1,500 long-term Educational Broadband Service (EBS) leases with educational and nonprofit organizations for use of the EBS portion of the 2.5 GHz band. T-Mobile has made no commitment to upholding these EBS lease agreements, which hundreds of thousands of low-income families and rural Americans rely on today for internet service.

Read the full statement.