Ajit Pai defends decision to revoke low-cost broadband designations
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today defended a new decision that prevents nine ISPs from using a federal program to sell subsidized broadband to poor people.
In a blog post titled "Setting the Record Straight on the Digital Divide," Pai said that Friday's decision regarding the Lifeline program doesn't mean he is abandoning his promise to close the gap between people who have access to "cutting-edge communications services and those who do not."
Journalists "sensationalized this story" and gave the impression that the FCC was ending Lifeline broadband subsidies entirely, Pai argued. "Our action only impacted 9 of the over 900 providers participating in the Lifeline program," Pai wrote. "In other words, 99 percent of the companies participating in the program are not affected at all."
