FCC Moves to Redirect Phone Subsidies for the Poor

[The Straight Story]

FCC Moves to Redirect Phone Subsidies for the Poor
By Grant Gross, IDG News

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission took the first step Thursday toward reworking two related programs that provide telephone subsidies for low-income residents, with commissioners calling for part of the funding to support broadband service.

The FCC's Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs, in place since 1985, now subsidize monthly telephone service and installation for poor U.S. residents. The FCC voted to launch a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that asks for public comments on whether to include broadband and bundled telecom services in the programs.

The NPRM also looks for ways to eliminate waste and abuse in the programs, and questions if the programs' budgets should be capped. The budget for the Lifeline and Link-Up programs, part of the larger Universal Service Fund (USF), has grown from US$162 million in 1997 to $1.3 billion in 2010.

"This trend is unsustainable," said Robert McDowell, a Republican member of the commission.


http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/221322/fcc_moves_to_redirect_phone_subsidies_for_the_poor.html