David,
Let me start by saying welcome back. I'm glad you are back. I missed you and
your sharing of information. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Christina
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015 2:32 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Feds take steps to bring broadband to low-income
households
From CNet ..
Feds take steps to bring broadband to low-income households
The FCC will seek comments on how to expand its $1.7 billion fund for
subsidizing phone service for low-income families. The agency wants the
fund to cover broadband service as well.
by Marguerite Reardon user screen_name=maggie_reardo…
@maggie_reardon
/June 18, 2015 12:16 PM PDT
Federal regulators are moving forward with plans to expand a
three-decade-old phone subsidy program for low-income households so that
it can also help families cover the cost of broadband Internet service.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to advance a
proposal that would give qualifying households the choice of spending
the $9.25 monthly Lifeline subsidy on either phone or broadband service.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has been pushing for the expansion of the
federal program, begun in 1985 under the Reagan administration, because
he says high-speed Internet service has become a necessity for
functioning in today's society. And to reduce the so-called digital
divide, Wheeler said, it's time for the Lifeline program to be rebooted
for the Internet age.
"Broadband has gone from being a luxury to a necessity," Wheeler said at
a press conference following the FCC's vote. "But the fact of the matter
is that the majority of Americans earning less than $25,000 a year don't
have broadband at home."
The proposal is meant to help these consumers get access to broadband
and expand their opportunities for finding jobs, accessing education and
receiving improved health care services. While commissioners on both
sides of the political aisle agree that broadband is the future and
access to it is important for all Americans, they disagree about how the
FCC should be promoting that access.
As a result, the vote to expand the Lifeline program has emerged as one
of the most contentious and politically divisive issues the FCC has
addressed since the agency passed its controversial Net neutrality rules
in February. Even though the program was started under a Republican
administration and expanded in 2005 under President George W. Bush's
administration, Republicans in Congress and on the FCC have been
critical of it.
In this political climate, it came as little surprise that the three
Democrats on the FCC voted in favor of the proposal to expand the
program, while the two Republicans, Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly, voted
against it.
Still, Wheeler said he was befuddled by how the program had become so
partisan. He said it was time for the agency to move forward to ensure
that low-income consumers had access to 21st century technologies. He
also said the new proposal will help fix many of the issues that have
plagued the program over the past few decades.
"Today begins a proceeding to spend ratepayers' money more wisely and to
get to the heart of the historic issues that have haunted this program's
efficiency," he said.
The Lifeline program is funded by a "universal service fee" that is
attached to consumer phone bills. The fund today has grown to $1.7
billion, serving roughly 12 million Americans.
At a Senate hearing earlier this month, Republican lawmakers expressed
concern over the potential cost of expanding the program and said that
issues around waste, fraud and abuse need to be settled before moving
forward.
The FCC implemented a number of reforms in 2012 to address some of these
concerns. Since that time, spending on the program has been reduced by
at least $1 billion. Critics say the reforms didn't go far enough.
FCC Commissioner Pai said in a statement that the agency still has a
long way to go in fixing the issues, as spending on Lifeline is still
almost double what it was in 2008. He also cited a March report from the
nonpartisan Government Accountability Office that called the Lifeline
program an "inefficient and costly mechanism to increase telephone
subscribership among low-income households."
And Pai said spending is only expected to increase as the program
expands. He echoed the sentiments of Republicans in the Senate and said
that before Lifeline should be expanded, the FCC has to bring fiscal
responsibility to the program.
"Despite some positive aspects to parts of this item, the Commission's
main proposal would take us in the wrong direction," Pai said. "It would
expand a broken program. It would waste even more money. And it would
raise taxes on the American people."
Wheeler argued that the FCC's proposal is taking steps to continue
"cleaning up the invitation to waste, fraud and abuse that has haunted
the program." And he emphasized that the problems the program
experiences today are a legacy of poor decisions that were made under a
Republican administration when the program was expanded to serve
wireless consumers a decade ago.
"Those who dissent today are voting against cleaning up the waste and
abuse created when the program was originally designed and expanded,"
Wheeler said. "For the past three years, this agency has been trying to
overcome inherited managerial problems that have perpetuated the
problems called out today."
The FCC's vote on Thursday is not the final word on expanding the
Lifeline program. It's only the first major step forward. Now that the
proposal has been adopted, the FCC will ask for comment on how the
program should be expanded to include broadband and how the agency can
continue to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.
--
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
www.davidgoldfield.info
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