Blog » FCC Seeks Comment on Reform of its Low-Income Program
03.07.11
The Federal Communications Commission took a first step towards modernizing the low-income Universal Service support programs known as Lifeline and Link Up. The FCC released a 137 page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comments on its reform proposals.
The subsidy programs provide discounts of about $10 for phone service and up to $30 for connection charges to low-income households, either wireline or wireless.
The FCC aims to reform the programs by:
- Strengthening protections against waste, fraud, and abuse, including the creation of a National Accountability Database to verify consumer eligibility;
- Taking immediate steps to create a uniform national framework for validating ongoing eligibility;
- Ensuring Lifeline only supports services consumers are actually using;
- Allowing discounts to be used for bundled voice-broadband service plans;
- Launching pilot programs to test strategies for supporting broadband service; and
- Evaluating a cap on the program, either temporary or permanent, in light of recent, rapid growth.
CWA strongly supports Universal Service Fund reform and efforts to bridge the digital divide for low-income populations.
Links:
FCC Proposes Comprehensively Reforming and Modernizing Lifeline/Link Up (FCC News)
Category: Rural Communities, Universality, Digital Divide, FCC, Federal Legislation
