FCC: Doing Poor Job for the People; Super Job for the TeleComm Giants

FCC Board: Chairman and four commissioners

Left to Right 

Michael O’Rielly, Republican congressional staffer, FCC since 2013.

Mignon Clyburn, Democrat daughter of Rep. Jim Clyburn, FCC since 2009.

Ajit Pai, Republican, former telecommunications lawyer, FCC since 2012.

Brendan Carr, Republican telecomm attorney, worked for Pai, FCC since 2017.

Jessica Rosenworcel, Democrat, former FCC staffer, former Counsel, Senate Commerce committee, FCC since 2012.

FREE OBAMA-PHONES – THE MYTH vs. THE FACTS: “Obama phones are more free stuff” that taxpayers pay for DEMS to get illegal alien votes, etc. etc., yada, yada, yap, yap. 

That is the GOP/rightwing/conservative narrative we hear daily. 

Now Ajit Pai, FCC chairman strikes again – he wants to end or scale it back (see more below). 

FYI: The history of this program dates back to two previous presidents, and the service isn’t funded by one single taxpayer dollar. The phones are discounted and sometimes free wireless services that started to become available to low income households in 2005, under George W. Bush. It is an expanded and updated version of the “Lifeline telephone service program that was launched in 1985, under Ronald Reagan.

There are two programs the USF pays for (* Link-up, and Life-line): The money is used to help schools, libraries, rural health care providers and telephone companies that operate in high cost areas by giving them discounts on telecommunications services. 

(* Linkup helps income-eligible people set up new home phone service, and Lifeline helps reduce their monthly bill).

The fund ALSO supports programs that provide discounted essential service and free service installations to income eligible families. Part of the money also helps keep your local telephone service reasonably priced. It's less costly for telephone companies to provide service in cities than it is in more remote rural areas that have small populations.

The Lifeline program, as explained by the FCC is here http://www.fcc.gov/lifeline is pretty simple and now as before for the poor and under GOP attack:

•  Each eligible low-income household can sign up for one phone line and that can be a landline or wireless phone. 

•  The program originally was designed for discounted basic service, some wireless providers have decided to include additional features, such as free texting within certain limits or even free phones. 

•  The income cutoff is usually around 150 percent of poverty, or the equivalent of $34,575 for a family of four. That means many of those who qualify are working poor. 

Example: Two wage earners, full time at minimum wage earn about $30,784 of the eligible maximum: $34,575. Those receiving free school lunches, SNAP, and under 150% poverty are mentioned as eligible; but that is not entirely correct.

All income-eligible individuals are told to contact individual phone companies for application details. In some states and places, dozens of landline and wireless carriers provide Lifeline connections.  

Each phone service provider has the option – and many do, not all is to tack on a fee at all. Nevertheless, the chants of “Free Obama Phones” are false, misleading, and insulting.

The programs are administered by the FCC as directed by Congress. None are Federally-funded with tax dollars at all – not one penny. So, how is it funded? 

The two major programs are financed via the pooled contributions of commercial phone service providers, which comes from a small monthly fees on their regular customers that they use to recoup the cost – it is called the Federal USF fund.

It is something that all telecommunications service providers (TSP) and certain other providers of telecommunications must contribute and is based on a percentage of their interstate and international telecommunications revenues.

Federal USF Explained: This surcharge keeps local phone service affordable for all Americans by providing discounts on services to schools, libraries, as well as those living in rural and high-cost areas, and to low-income eligible families.

How is it the USF charged on my phone bill? FCC regulates all telecomm companies, and set up the USF in 1997. All long distance, local telephone companies, cellular companies, paging companies and pay phone providers that provide service between states contribute a percentage of the total amount they bill to the fund. The amount required to contribute to the Fund continues to increase, and recovery any cost is allowed by the FCC.

The USF is one source that helps make it possible for telephone companies to service remote areas without having to raise everyone's rates and the amount could vary because the percentage charged is based on the total amount billed for long distance fees: 1+State-to-state; International; Calling Cards; Toll Free state-to-state and Directory and Operator Assistance. 

The FCC sets the percentage amount and it can change the amount once a quarter. Overall, the FCC sets the amount that each long distance company has to contribute to the USF, and the company passes associated fees along to customers to recover their cost. The money collected by the long distance customers when is used to recover their part (amount) they are required to pay into USF.

(I note: It’s kind of like: Taking from Peter to pay Paul – neat trick, um)? 

Why even touch the programs: The FECC and Congress recognized that telephone service provides a vital link to emergency services, government services and surrounding communities.

(I Note: The current FCC chairman is Trump appointee, Ajit Pai, a hardcore, rabid conservative and he simply does not like “free stuff” which is a bogus flat out lie and piss-poor excuse to act the way he is).

His recent two critical steps are to: (1) Repeal “net neutrality” and now he is attacking the one single program for the needy (low-income people) with enable them to get cell phone service at reduced rates – a program that I noted above was started in 1985 under President Ronald Reagan).

Summary of the programs include:

Lifeline/Link Up: This program provides discounts on monthly service and initial telephone installation or activation fees for primary residences to income-eligible consumers.

High-Cost: This program ensures that consumers in all regions of the nation have access to telecommunications services at rates that are affordable and reasonably comparable to those in urban areas.

Schools and Libraries: This program makes discounts available to eligible schools and libraries for eligible telecommunications services, the Internet, and internal connections.

Rural Health Care: This program helps link health care providers located in rural areas to urban medical centers so that patients living in rural America will have access to the same advanced diagnostic and other medical services that are enjoyed in urban communities.

My Point of View: First of all and right up front, I am sick and tired of the GOP conservatives always hacking poor people and/or low-income hard-working Americans in the name of "good government."

These two Pai rulings, and I'm sure propped up by Trump, are disgusting and sickening. 

The cancellation of “Net Neutrality” impacts nearly 100% of the country. and Lifeline part hits a huge segment of low-income Americans who need reduced cell service. 

So, shame on Pai and those who voted with the other two GOPers, naturally just shame on all of you. 

Thanks for stopping by.