The broadband Internet subsidy will increase access for low-income households.
Low-income families will receive a monthly subsidy for broadband internet access beginning in December. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted three-to-two to approve the subsidy, splitting along party lines.
Approved on March 31, the initiative will provide $9.25 each month to qualifying users for broadband internet access, which increasingly is viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury.
Internet access is essential for job hunting, as most jobs are posted online and many applications are online-only. Also, lack of internet access puts children’s education at risk, as 70% percent of school assign homework that must be done on the internet. The Pew Research Center reports that only 31.4% of households with school-age children and annual incomes of less than $50,000 have high-speed internet access.
To that end in particular, the commission has said that participants’ mobile devices should have Wi-Fi and hotspot functions.
Mignon Clyburn, one of three Democratic commissioners who voted for the subsidy, said that it “meets the 21st-century needs for those most vulnerable,” according to The New York Times.
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The two Republican commissioners, however, sought to reduce and cap the budget of the subsidy’s parent program.
“The commission’s failure to clean up the waste, fraud and abuse in the program puts the entire enterprise in jeopardy,” said Republican commissioner Ajit Pai, who voted against the subsidy.
The internet subsidy is part of the Lifeline plan, a federal program begun in 1985 to ensure low-income families had telephone service. Subsidies later were added to cover cell phones, but some users illegally double-billed the program. A third-party administrator will be tasked with finding instances of double-billing or other fraud, according to the Times.
Currently, about 40 percent of people earning less than $25,000 annually can afford broadband, compared to the 95 percent of all households making more than $150,000 that have high-speed Internet.
The program goes into effect Dec. 1. Recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), tribal and veteran benefits will be eligible to apply for the subsidy, which can be used for either wireless or fixed-wire broadband. The FCC plans to keep the subsidy’s budget at less than $2.25 billion.
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