Federal officials are taking steps to help close the digital divide by updating the 30-year-old Lifeline program to help low-income Americans afford broadband as well as voice communications.
Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, joined FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Tuesday in proposing the Lifeline update, which will come to a full commission vote on March 31.
The two penned a blog entry on the FCC website. “Internet access has become a pre-requisite for full participation in our economy and our society, but nearly one in five Americans is still not benefitting from the opportunities made possible by the most powerful and pervasive platform in history,” they wrote.
