Ever since the Ronald Reagan Administration, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), there's a government subsidy plan (currently costing $1.7 billion) that allows Americans with low incomes to afford landline telephone service in their homes - and now there's a suggestion that there'll also be FCC subsidized broadband.
While the perspective of FCC subsidized broadband would be the first effort of its kind in the United States, there have been similar moves around the world regarding the importance of actually having easy access to be online, in what's considered the "right to Internet access."
In the past, six countries have stepped ahead of a FCC subsidized Internet move, with five of those being in Europe (Estonia, Finland, France, Greece and Spain) and the other one in Central America (Costa Rica).
According to The Wall Street Journal, first thoughts about a possible FCC subsidized Internet came earlier this week, as last Thursday Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman, took to social media and blogging to propose that those consumers with lower incomes be able to access cheap Internet services through the same program that subsidizes phone bills for those below the poverty lines.
The original program, Lifeline, was created during the Reagan Administration and covers the costs of basic phone services; it was further expanded to include wireless phones during George W. Bush's White House tenure.
RT reports that the move towards FCC subsidized broadband comes as Internet access has become increasingly important for American families, and the agency posts these facts to support the move: over 80 percent of jobs posted by Fortune 500 companies are online, and high-speed Internet access can help citizens connect to cheaper goods and services, which can potentially save around $9,000 a year.
The proposal has already drawn criticism from conservative lawmakers, according to Bloomberg, such as Louisiana's Republican Senator David Vitter, who cites "regular reports of ongoing fraud" within the agency to address why he doesn't agree with the FCC subsidized broadband.
