Public Interest Orgs to FCC: DELETE, DELETE, DELETE the Digital Divide

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined Access Humboldt, Common Sense Media, Everyone On, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and New America's Open Technology Institute (all members of the Lifeline Coalition*) in a filing in the Federal Communications Commission's RE: DELETE, DELETE, DELETE proceeding. With the expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program, millions of households lost the support they relied on to access the internet. Lifeline must now rise to meet this urgent need. To do so, the program must be made more accessible, more flexible, and more robust while preserving integrity and reducing administrative burdens. To that end, we respectfully urge the Commission to adopt the following proposals:

1. Delete the Sunset of Support for Voice-Only Services.
2. Delete Administrative Burdens by Connecting Eligibility Databases.
3. Delete Outdated Restrictions on the Lifeline Benefit.
4. Delete Barriers to Internet Service Provider Participation in Lifeline.

[Amy Huffman is the Policy Director at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. Drew Garner is the Director of Policy Engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]