'Obamaphone' Could Become Obamanet

In 1985, The Federal Communications Commission introduced a program called Lifeline, under which low income Americans could get access to telephone lines. However, with landlines becoming largely obsolete in the age of smartphones and the internet the program was reworked to include mobile and smartphones. Now, the FCC is looking to revamp that program further to provide poor households with an internet connection instead. Connecting Low Income Americans On Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler outlined plans to change the program in order to allow families receiving a Lifeline subsidy to choose whether they wanted to spend it on a telephone line or an internet connection, or in some cases, both. Currently, the $1.7 billion program provides some 12 million households access to telephone services. Internet Connection A Must The change is necessary, Wheeler said, to maintain Lifeline's usefulness among poor Americans. The program was designed to keep low income families connected and able to keep up with changing business practices. In the past, jobseekers needed only to provide a telephone number to prospective employers, but now many companies communicate solely by email and most application processes are done online. Not only that, but the ability to effectively use the internet has become a foundational skill for most jobs. Critics Say It Invites Fraud The FCC's initiative won't go through without a fight, though. Dubbed ‘Obamaphone' by Republican critics, Lifeline has already been under scrutiny for being susceptible to fraud. Opponents of the program complain that phone companies are liberal with who they deem eligible for Lifeline, thus wasting the government's money. Many worry that the expansion of the program to include broadband will further exploit government funding.