MMTC-Led Coalition Urges FCC To Take on Lifeline Reform
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and 35 other groups sent a letter to the FCC calling for “immediate and comprehensive reform” of the Lifeline program to also pay for Internet access, MMTC said Friday in a news…
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release. “A bi-partisan effort is required to modernize this program so that millions of Americans can realize the full potential of the digital broadband age, and obtain this benefit in an efficient and effective program,” the letter said. “Successfully upgrading the 30-year-old Lifeline program will require policymakers to embrace a new approach,” said President Debra Berlyn of Consumer Policy Solutions, one of the groups that signed the letter. “Today, too many people have to choose between broadband and other services, and it’s the time to make access more affordable and accessible,” said Rainbow PUSH Public Policy Institute Executive Director Steven Smith. Industry and FCC officials have predicted that Lifeline changes could headline the FCC’s June 18 open meeting (see 1505010051). FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn has been a major advocate of expanding the Lifeline program and has called for launch of a rulemaking before the start of the summer (see 1503130058).