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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday April 02 2019, @01:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the who-needs-the-internet-anyway dept.

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has proposed a new spending cap on the FCC's Universal Service programs that deploy broadband to poor people and to rural and other underserved areas.

Pai reportedly circulated the proposal to fellow commissioners on Tuesday, meaning it will be voted upon behind closed doors instead of in an open meeting. Pai has not released the proposal publicly, but it was described in a Politico report Wednesday, and an FCC official confirmed the proposal's details to Ars. Democratic FCC commissioners and consumer advocacy groups have criticized Pai's plan, saying it could harm the FCC's efforts to expand broadband access.

The FCC's Universal Service system's purpose is to bring communications service access to all Americans and consists of four programs: The Connect America Fund, which gives ISPs money to deploy broadband in rural areas; Lifeline, which provides discounts on phone and broadband service to low-income consumers; the E-Rate broadband program for schools and libraries; and a telecom access program for rural health care providers.

Pai's plan suggests an $11.4 billion annual cap on the total cost of the four programs, which is more than current spending but would put an upper bound on what the program could spend in the future. The cap would be indexed for inflation, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly wrote on Twitter.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/ajit-pai-wants-to-cap-spending-on-broadband-for-poor-people-and-rural-areas/


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  • (Score: 2) by darnkitten on Tuesday April 02 2019, @10:13PM

    by darnkitten (1912) on Tuesday April 02 2019, @10:13PM (#823820)

    ...I've always been paying a special "Universal Service Fee". Where is all that money?

    Among other things, it goes to subsidize telecom services to schools and libraries in rural or impoverished areas; though, recently, they cut subsidies for telephony (because everyone uses VOIP now) and other useful telecommunications and infrastructure, in favor of subsidizing broadband with mandatory filtered internet (with contradictory filtering requirements)--which, in addition to the onerous paperwork to apply, confirm application, accept and then report, is why most rural public libraries in my state have stopped applying.

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