Public Knowledge Joins Groups in Letter Urging FCC to Preserve Lifeline for the Poor
Public Knowledge Joins Groups in Letter Urging FCC to Preserve Lifeline for the Poor
Public Knowledge Joins Groups in Letter Urging FCC to Preserve Lifeline for the Poor

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    Today, Public Knowledge joins a coalition of more than 30 consumer advocacy and civil rights groups in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai and Commissioners Clyburn and O’Reilly urging them to support the Lifeline program. The groups call for the preservation of the 2015 reforms that extend the program to support broadband service, enabling low-income individuals to access broadband internet to participate in modern society.

    The following can be attributed to Dallas Harris, Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge:

    “Chairman Pai has talked the talk when it comes to bridging the digital divide, but it’s time that he backed up his rhetoric with actions that will make the internet more affordable. Instead, Chairman Pai has made it his first priority to limit the number of providers eligible to offer broadband to low-income consumers through Lifeline.

    “For over 30 years, Lifeline has made telephone service affordable for millions of Americans in poverty. By modernizing the program to support broadband, the Commission acknowledged that the internet is today’s critical means of communication, just as the phone was 30 years ago. We implore Chairman Pai to make good on his promises to close the digital divide, reject further efforts to undermine the Lifeline program, and move quickly to implement the Lifeline modernization Order.”

    You may view the letter here.

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.