It seems like they’ve been looking into it, studying it, debating it, and arguing about it for years. But the Federal Communications Commission last Tuesday finally did what we’ve been urging it to do for many months –- it approved an affordable internet-for-the-poor program similar to Lifeline, its existing free government cell phone program.
To be completely accurate, the program isn’t free. Not yet, anyway. Participants in the program, called Connect America, will be required to pay $10 per month for high-speed broadband service. But the program is so closely allied with the Lifeline free cell phone program that we expect the $10 monthly fee to be dropped in the future. Until then, the highly discounted $10 per month must be considered a huge step forward.
The program, which we predict will eventually be called Lifeline Internet, was officially approved last Tuesday on a unanimous 3-0 vote of the Federal Communications Commission.
Critics ask how a program like this can be adequately funded in today’s difficult economy. The FCC has the answer. They are mandating significant changes to the existing Lifeline program that will eliminate massive fraud and the savings will more than pay for the new benefits.
Specifically, they have called for the creation of a new national database that will prevent participants from getting multiple free cell phones from multiple companies.
The FCC is also cracking down on fraud by limiting the Lifeline program to one phone –- landline or cell –- per household. Consumers will have to choose between one or the other. They can’t have both.
It has already begun auditing Lifeline vendors to ferret out fraud. It’s already found and eliminated almost 270,000 fraudulent subscriptions in 12 states. Mind you, they found 270,000 cases of fraud out of 3.6 million subscribers in those states, saving $33 million for the program. Each vendor will now be independently audited every other year to find other cases of fraud. Extrapolate those numbers out over the entire country and the savings really begin to add up – savings that will then be used to fund the cheap internet service.
In fact, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke positively of the changes and predicts that they will save as much as $2 billion over the next few years. He believes that will be more than enough to fund cheap broadband services for the poor.
It’s a small start, but the FCC will budget $25 million to begin a pilot program that will reassign these Lifeline funds so that they pay for the new affordable internet service instead of for the free government cell phone service.
“Broadband has gone from being a luxury to a necessity in the 21st century,” Genachowski said.
We applaud the FCC’s vote and the formal approval of this new program. It’s just what America’s poor need in today’s world. Many companies now accept job applications only online, so this will help the poor land jobs for which they wouldn’t otherwise be considered. Many schools demand that homework be done on the internet, so this will allow children in low income families to compete on a level playing field with more affluent students. It will also allow their parents to communicate with teachers more easily.
The roots of the Lifeline program go back to the 1930s, but it expanded from offering discounts on landlines to offering free government cell phones thanks to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Its growth has been nothing short of phenomenal thanks to the addition of cell phones to the program.
In fact, critics complain that Lifeline is exploding in size. The Lifeline fund has grown from $667 million in 2000 to $1.3 billion in 2010. We estimate that it may top $2 billion when the final numbers are in for 2011. We also estimate that as many as 10 million Americans may now have free government cell phones thanks to Lifeline.
But now, thanks to the FCC’s efforts to root out those who take advantage of this program unfairly, cheap broadband internet service will soon be available to the poor across America. (And as we said earlier, we anticipate that the program will be made free in the not too distant future.)
To qualify for Lifeline’s free government cell phone or the new cheap internet program, you must already participate in any one of a number of other government aid programs, such as the National School Lunch Program, food stamps (SNAP), public housing assistance, Medicaid, Section 8 housing, Supplemental Security Income, various Home Energy Assistance Programs, and other programs. You can also qualify if your household income is no more than 135% of federal poverty guidelines (and as much as 150% in some states).
Source: Bloomberg
dejoint says
here in New York, the cables companies will not offer low cost boardband internet at all ,and why should they ? We are not their concern, they don’t care about us, I’m a disable, SSDI , vet and either i paid $29.99 a month form these crooks, or not. Time Warner, who is now charter ,DO NOT CARE
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
There are two plans you should check out, dejoint. One is PCs for People and the other is 4GCommunity. They are great options if they’re available in your area. And neither of the plans come from cable companies. You can read more about both of them at this link:
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
Lois Campise says
I am a senior on a fixed income and and with AT&T internet only service, and they have raised my service again, and I just can not afford anymore raises.I pay $7.00 a month just for their modem I did not get an increase on my SS. But yet everything has gone up, my rent, my internet. I am trying to find a internet server that I can afford. am not a heavy duty computer user e-mails face book and that is about all.
And I am not at all computer savvy. I do have a LifeLine Home phone.
I have no clue what wireless is. Or broadband, I am connected to the AT& T phone line now.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Wireless means your computer does not have wired access to the internet. Your computer accesses the internet via a signal with no cable connection. Broadband refers to a high-capacity transmission technique which enables a large volume of data to be communicated simultaneously.
If you are already paying for a regular AT&T internet account, they will not allow you to switch to a low-income, low-price account even if you are completely qualified. They require you to go 90 days without service.
Are you aware that there are lots of other low-income internet plans available other than AT&T? You can check them all out at the link below. Two of them you should check out in particular are PCs for People and 4GCommunity.
https://www.cheapinternet.com/low-income-internet
SHIRLEY says
when do we sign up?
debi miller says
Question about broadband internet or any advice? I’m disabled and qualify for snap & lifeline phone. I am alone & very lonely. No car & even if I had one, my health wouldn’t allow me to get out to wheel around a store. No family. I had/have two friends, they both same as me. Can’t see each other, and as everyone knows, very limited minutes to talk. I spend every single day, 24/7-365 days a year alone. My question is this…(I will add that I don’t know what broadband is)…Is there ANYWAY POSSIBLE to receive tv? Also going to add….I’m not able to get cable TV or high speed internet through phone lines or cable lines. (I tried before I became disabled and my house is in a half-mile stretch of road that has no cable lines & phone lines are old as ma bell) Satellite TV is out of my price. I have a digital converter box on my TV now. I get 3 channels & choices are mostly sports & 30 minutes long commercial. Not sure how much longer I can lie here looking at these 4 walls. Anyone have ANY advice? And…if any reading have your health.. Thank everyday for it..don’t take it for granted. You don’t realize low much it means until it’s gone. I never even needed a tv before…I ‘didn’t have time’…always was working or too busy with some sorta project… Living life full…then Wham. In bed. Sorry for off topic….
p.k. lopez says
I am sooo very frustrated. I do NOT want free internet, BUT I cannot pay $4o a mo. or even $30 !!!!! I have an ill child unable to attend school. the district sends out a teacher 3 x’s a week for instruction. If my child isn’t too ill, she can have her lessons. I cannot qualify as she does not recieve reduced lunch-as she is ill at home !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we are very below the poverty line, qualify for everything, as I cannot work due to my ill child !!!!!!!!!!!! so now how do I qualify !!!! no one offers $10 internet (broadband is fine), even $15 is doable unless I can prove she gets reduced lunch !!!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!
evelyn miller says
wouldyou please let me know when lifeline is av for internet service i have wireless with charter but had to lease modem with them so its costing over 30.00 i really cant afford i get food stamps and im on ssi i have a phone with lifeline but if i have to let it go to get the internet ill do that thanks evelyn miller
Kim says
Evelyn, did you ever look into the connect2compete program? It is now the everyOneOn program, but you can find offers at http://www.everyoneon.org/ Let me know if I can be of any assistance. Many of these programs start at $10 per mnonth