FCC Approves Subsidy-Fund Overhaul
Federal regulators approved an overhaul of an $8 billion federal phone-subsidy program Thursday to make more federal money available to fund high-speed Internet service in rural America.
In a unanimous vote, the Federal Communications Commission’s commissioners approved a remake of the federal Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service in rural America and to low-income Americans. The agency will shift the fund’s $8 billion from funding phone service to high-speed broadband service over the next few years.