Free phone program expansion would give millions $9.25 a month to pay for Internet, cellular data
By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com
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on March 15, 2016 at 11:37 AM, updated March 15, 2016 at 12:28 PM
The Federal Communications Commission will soon vote on a plan that will help low-income people purchase home Internet or cellular data.
Under the FCC proposal, people who qualify for the program would receive $9.25 a month to purchase Internet or cellphone data. The plan represents a shift in the existing Lifeline program – known to critics as "Obamaphones" - that provides subsidies for low-income Americans to pay for cell service. The program was started by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s to cover the cost of home phone service but has expanded dramatically under President Barack Obama as cellular usage has become common.
The current Lifeline program allows recipients to use the subsidy to purchase either a landline or cell phone service. Currently, users can apply the subsidy to cover Internet access on their phones but under the new plan, the money could also go towards standalone data plans.
The FCC proposal would allow people to use the $9.25 monthly subsidy to buy standalone Internet service or bundled voice and data packages. The plan would phase out voice-only mobile service so that after 2019, providers accepting funding from through Lifeline would be required to offer broadband as part of their service. Providers would also eventually be required to offer unlimited data minutes.
"The biggest reason (low-income) Americans don't sign up for broadband is cost," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in a blog post. "Only half of the nation's households in the lowest income tier subscribe to broadband. And 43 percent of all people who don't subscribe to broadband at home say that affordability is the reason."
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