Sohn Cites Coming Lifeline Implementation Steps, Says Part of Gradual Change
The FCC has more work to do in promoting broadband adoption after adopting a Lifeline modernization order, said Gigi Sohn, counselor to Chairman Tom Wheeler, Wednesday at the Net Inclusion 2016 gathering in Kansas City, Missouri. Sohn said the order…
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directs the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to develop a comprehensive digital inclusion plan to help the commission "better understand non-price barriers to broadband adoption" and to propose ways to remove those obstacles. The CGB is also to engage with community-based organizations, local and tribal governments, and industry stakeholders to pursue strategies for promoting broadband adoption through Lifeline and increased digital literacy, she said. The bureau is also tasked with helping broadband ISPs work with schools, libraries, community centers and others that serve low-income consumers, she said. Sohn asked for audience members to help. "Successful broadband adoption programs come from the bottom up, not the top down," she said in prepared remarks. "Trusted community-based organizations and anchor institutions know how best to serve residents most in need of the tools to get connected. We at the FCC will be counting on you and your partners to do one-on-one work with people in your communities to help eligible consumers who don’t have Internet access take advantage of the new Lifeline." A Wireline Bureau public notice asked any carriers with pending Lifeline compliance plan requests or petitions to be a Lifeline-only eligible telecom carrier to affirm in writing by June 7 that they still want bureau review of their applications. The Lifeline order is "part of a much greater accomplishment that I don’t think people rightly appreciate -- largely because it happened so gradually over a span of seven years," said Sohn, referring to FCC moves to shift various USF voice mechanisms to broadband support. "With the modernization of the FCC’s universal service programs -- notably Lifeline -- we are in a stronger position to bridge the digital opportunity gaps in the years ahead. If we seize this opportunity and do the day-to-day work to get people connected, we will look up in a few years and there will be millions more Americans enjoying the benefits of high-speed Internet -- for employment, for education, for entertainment, for health care, for civic engagement, for a better quality of life. Now that’s very gradual change we can believe in."