The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved on April 1 the proposal to include broadband services in the telephone subsidy of low-income Americans.
The FCC voted in favor of the $9.25 monthly subsidy with an aim to help millions of Americans gain access to broadband, considering it as a public utility. The move could put an end, if not minimize, the so-called digital divide.
Three Democrats supported the proposal by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, while two Republicans voted against it.
The approved subsidy plan is seen as part of the reform of the three-decade-old Lifeline program. This plan comes at a time when high-speed Internet connection has already become crucial to American households, since it is vital to doing homework, finding jobs and carrying out other significant errands.
Wheeler says the approval of this subsidy plan ensures Americans gain access to what he calls "the dominant communications platform of the day," as reported by The New York Times.
The FCC says that only about 40 percent of individuals who make $25,000 every year can afford broadband. But 95 percent of households that earn more than $150,000 have high-speed Internet. Moreover, today, one in five people don't have access to broadband, and most of them are poor.
Americans who are eligible for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and tribal and verterans benefits may apply for the subsidy beginning December.
Consumer advocacy groups seem to be glad about the approval of the proposal.
Hannah Sassaman, director of Media Mobilizing Project, believes that the subsidy is going to transform access to "this basic human right in American cities," adding that the access is important, for instance, in applying "for even the lowest-wage jobs."
In the meantime, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat who voted yea, cited a study carried out by Pew Research Center that found 5 million households from a total of 29 million with school-aged children do not have high-speed Internet connection.
"There was a time when broadband access was a luxury. No more," she told the Los Angeles Times. "And nothing demonstrates this as clearly as with education."
