The FCC is stopping 9 companies from providing federally subsidized Internet to the poor

[Sunlei]

Source: Washington Post

Regulators are telling nine companies they won't be allowed to participate in a federal program meant to help them provide affordable Internet access to low-income consumers — weeks after those companies had been given the green light.

The move, announced Friday by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. In a statement, Pai called the initial decisions a form of “midnight regulation.” “These last-minute actions, which did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners at the time they were taken, should not bind us going forward,” he said.

The program, known as Lifeline, provides registered households with a $9.25-a-month credit, which can then be used to buy home Internet service. As many as 13 million Americans may be eligible for Lifeline that do not have broadband service at home, the FCC has found. Roughly 900 service providers participate in the Lifeline program.

“I’m most concerned about the children we serve,” said Kajeet founder Daniel Neal. “We partner with school districts — 41 states and the District of Columbia — to provide educational broadband so that poor kids can do their homework.”


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/02/03/the-fcc-is-stopping-9-companies-from-providing-subsidized-broadband-to-the-poor/?utm_term=.503a5565c62b

[underpants]

1. Expanding high speed internet should be part of the infrastructure upgrades

This is horrible.

[Stonepounder]

2. Well, there is a simple solution.

The lazy bums need to go out and get another job or two. The kids can take care of them selves while mommy and daddy are out working 18 hours a day. Then someone will tip off Child Protective Services who will remove the kids from the home and dump them into foster care. Then mommy and daddy can quit working so hard. Or they can let the kids drop out of school and the kids can get jobs flipping burgers and since no one will ever be home, they won't need internet access. Simple.

[Girard442]

3. Here's the over-arching strategy:

Stick a knife in everything that benefits the not-rich. The .01% want their subjects impoverished, ignorant, afraid, and unorganized.

[DK504]

4. " ...undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. "

So this tool is taking away the companies RIGHT to provide for for their customers.

Lifeline has provided the poor with basic phone service for decades....taking away something like this will kill people. They don't get nice smart phones with this program, they get land lines and give phone service. This is absolutely one of the most callous things I've seen in years. Things done to poor peeps that is.

[Bohunk68]

5. Hold on just a second here. They are talking about Lifeline,

which is NOT the same as what we usually think of for internet service. Lifeline is that item that is worn to call emergency services for the elderly. I know this, because I am on our County Senior Council which provides said service for the elderly. It costs $30/mo and the $9.25 voucher would not go very far. Lifeline is NOT internet service.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. They are different

The Lifeline you have is the medical alert system, which they appear to be calling &quot Philips) Lifeline" - https://www.lifeline.philips.com/

The Lifeline in the OP is a federal program -

https://www.fcc.gov/general/lifeline-program-low-income-consumers

[kimbutgar]

6. I bet there are a lot of chump supporters on fixed incomes who get those subsidies

Couldn't happen to a better bunch.

[Bengus81]

7. The right to HSI should be fully under a Gov regulation IMO

It's not just a toy like it was in it's infancy. It's a very important means of communication,weather conditions running LIVE instead of waiting for local news,bill paying etc.

With the COX monopoly we have here JUST the HSI will easily be well over $100.00 per month for the lowest speed in the next few years. The TV part I can do without,or get an outside antenna and get it for free. But when you can no longer afford the Internet because of a monopoly then the Gov needs to regulate.

[keithbvadu2]

9. Trump does not want to regulate in favor of the consumer.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Is $9.25 even enough for dialup? If so, where? NT

[Sunlei]

11. This isp has been around from the days of $7 a month dial-up, they sold to earthlink it's up to $15

about $15 a month now. I've held an account there for decades, haven't used the dial-up part in many years except for travel. I print out a list of local connect #s and stay at a hotel with 'free local calls'. you have to click through the peoplepc portal to earthlink, we few old school dial-up people get to keep our peoplepc

http://www.peoplepc.com/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. Only for the first three months. After that, it's $25/month. For diualup.

http://www.earthlink.net/access/dsl.faces

Juno is $10.95/ months for dialup, I think. They haven't upgraded their dialup software for the Mac in fifteen years.

[Sunlei]

21. They bill me 15, maybe because I started with peoplepc when it was a local guy down the street :)

That link is for the DSL, dial-up is less expensive.

I have DSL (Verizon) now at my house it's plenty fast enough but my landline phone has really good quality buried line. I don't have a mac just a collection of mostly gaming computers.

[orangecrush]

12. The Safelink program

Will be next.

Can't let the poors communicate.

[Doitnow]

13. I've come to the conclusion that reThugs aim to maximize

the number of poor people (no contraception, no education, no welfare, social security, medicare unemployment benefits--the list goes on and on), so that they have too many children who end up in the military because that's the only thing available for them----- where they can fight wars for OIL because Amerika comes first and we are Exceptional. Now I'm sure the rePugs will deny this and say we are the most generous country in the world, blah, blah, blah, but this is exactly the result when they are in control.

[Sunlei]

14. America is well on the path to a two class society. That's why the good guy team ALWAYS spoke about

income inequity as the root of many problems. (can't afford school, can't afford food, housing, transportation, a phone)

Yet there never were millions of Americans demanding of CONGRESS, a Federal wage hike above $7.25 an hour.

[w100jmi]

17. yup. nt

[Lanius]

15. And the rubes wonder why America is falling behind the rest of the world

and our students come up short in math and science compared to the other advanced nations. But the wealthy right-wingers don't care as long as their kids succeed.

[mr_lebowski]

16. It's because their brain never evolved past the reptilian stage ...

Everything is about 'me' and 'mine' to these people ...

[DeminPennswoods]

18. Wait, don't cable/phone subscribers subsidize this?

I'm looking at my phone bill and I see two items: "federal universal service fee" and "federal subscriber line and access recovery charge". I believe one subsidizes 911 and the other universal access at public institutions like schools and libraries. I don't see anything broken out in my cable bill, but it might just be rolled up into some other catchall category.

[coco22]

20. They think they can stifle communication..

[not fooled]

22. Net Neutrality is next

They want to control what we read. Fascism 101.