FCC approves $50-a-month emergency broadband subsidies
Summary
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a plan to administer $3.2 billion in emergency relief to subsidize broadband for millions of poor Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Rosenworcel began circulating her proposal, called the Emergency Broadband Benefit, among FCC commissioners earlier this week. Congress stipulated that the money would be available to households that are at the poverty line or 135 percent above it, those who qualify for free and reduced school lunches, or people who have experienced substantial loss of income since Feb. 29, 2020. For millions of Americans, the digital divide exists because they live in a rural part of the country where broadband infrastructure simply isnt available. It hasnt helped that the FCC for years has been addressing these problems using maps that dont accurately reflect where broadband service exists and where it doesnt.