Civil Rights Alliance Pushes Pai on Lifeline, Media Ownership, Inmate Calling Rates
A civil rights coalition pressed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and an aide on its three top priorities: "strong support for stand-alone broadband as a component of the Lifeline program, limits on media concentration, and caps on predatory prison phone rates."…
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The advocates urged Pai to "commit to implementing the [2016 Lifeline] modernization order on schedule and to support a robust program in his remarks and policy proposals," said a filing on a meeting posted Wednesday by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Media and Telecom Task Force in docket 11-42. The conference "believes that media concentration leads to fewer owners, fewer entrepreneurial opportunities and fewer jobs, whereas actions to tighten the media ownership rules will lead to more owners, more jobs, and more opportunities for people of color and women." The coalition cited "the importance of capping prison phone rates" and urged Pai to address inmate calling once an appellate court acts on current litigation.