The FCC’s new Chairman Ajit Pai has told 9 companies, who had just recently been given the green light, that they will not be allowed to participate in the Lifeline program that helps subsidize internet services to low-income homes.
The move, announced Friday by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. In a statement, Pai called the initial decisions a form of “midnight regulation.”
Last spring, the FCC moved to expand the Lifeline program in the hopes of bridging what’s called the “digital divide.” This is the expanse of information and technology unavailable to people who do not have a lot of money. Pulling back on nine companies is a huge step back to the program—which is what kleptocrats like chairman Pai seem to relish.
For Kajeet Inc., one of the companies that was initially granted permission to provide service through Lifeline, the news comes as a blow.
“I’m most concerned about the children we serve,” said Kajeet founder Daniel Neal. “We partner with school districts — 41 states and the District of Columbia — to provide educational broadband so that poor kids can do their homework.”
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Pai called this Friday move a way of making sure there is less “fraud” in the Lifeline program—something that Democrats have said has been worked on in recent months. But, like most of what the FCC will now be doing—it’s all for show as the deck is now stacked in Republicans’ favor. For example, yesterday Pai announced more transparency in the FCC’s rule making process. In the face of it, this is good news. However, the fact that the FCC will now vote however the Republican Party wants them to vote means this is a meaningless show of transparency. There’s also this:
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai yesterday announced a seemingly simple step to make the FCC's rule making process more open to the public: the FCC intends to release the full text of rulemakings before they're voted on instead of days after the vote.
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But Pai didn't commit to releasing the text of all items voted on by the FCC in advance. There are four other votes scheduled for the February 23 meeting on items for which the full text hasn't been made public. Pai acknowledged that changing the FCC process isn't as easy as flipping a switch.
I’m guessing by February 23, 2017 we will officially have ended net neutrality,