FCC proposing monthly broadband subsidies for low-income households
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Am I reading this right? A low income person/family can afford a computer?
Not the $3,000 dollar computers, keep in mind you can get computer for under $500 and some refurbished under $100 U.S. Dollars.
Actually, I gave up expanded cable tv to get the internet service. For the Internet I am still on a discount special but I may give up my landline to keep the internet when the special runs out. I am not lazy. I have medical issues.
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Many organizations recycle computers for the poor - especially school children. My computer club has been doing this for years. Members buy new computers and donate their old setup. We clean them up, reinstall operating systems and donate to the elementary schools in our county which are all Title 1. We used to get a lot more but since Windows XP has been phased out, we don't get as many anymore - we won't accept them. Another year from now and the same problem is going to exist for Vista computers when it gets retired in April 2017.
The schools use them in different ways. Some have raffled them off (free no charge raffle) to those parents who attend PTA meetings to encourage them to attend. Others setup stations where parents can come in and check on childs class info and whatever else has been made available. Still another set up a 'store' where students earn points to get a computer - good grades on tests, etc.
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Not the $3,000 dollar computers, keep in mind you can get computer for under $500 and some refurbished under $100 U.S. Dollars.
Actually, I gave up expanded cable tv to get the internet service. For the Internet I am still on a discount special but I may give up my landline to keep the internet when the special runs out. I am not lazy. I have medical issues.
Depending on your service you may be able to get internet phone service as part of your bundle which often drives the bundle price way down - more services lower price per service. Here in our part of Florida many have opted for internet phone service. It works great and 911 is now mandatory on this service (it didn't used to be ). We even get free long distance. The modem you get has a battery backup in it, so if your power goes out you still have phone for a while.
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Hi there
Before throwing any equipment away I always check to see if there are any organisations who want hardware - however here where energy is cheap (and Green / non Carbon -- Geothermal plus Hydroelectric - we could export huge amounts if the technology was / were --? eng scholars what's correct ! --! available !!) there aren't too many needy organisations and the cost of transport actually makes sending it to the tip a better option.
Now if the Airlines / Logistical organisations could pay for the transport or even subsidize a part of it --that would be a totally different ballgame.
Subsidizing broadband to poorer communities is also a good idea - but I'm sure if any of the members of these Forums have been to some really rural parts of Africa - they often have a mobile phone service parts of the USA would DIE for !!!!!.
Of course looking after people not so fortunate as ourselves is in general a worthwhile goal it's not always as clear cut as headlines might make it to be.
Cheers
jimbo
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FWIW.. I like the idea of making internet access more affordable and avaible to people in lower income brackets. Long run benefit will be there children will have the ability to do research and improve their work in school. For me that's a major win.
Jeff
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Hi there
Agreed - the better informed people are the better humanity is in the long run --- trouble is there are always the diehards who refuse to either use the facilities themselves - OK that's their choice - but what's worse is when they refuse to allow others such as their children or people under their control access to these services.
Not wanting to get into too much Politics here - but I've been to Lancaster in the USA -- If a Kid gets sick for example is it right that a Doctor can't be summoned by a mobile phone or even treatment given with help of Video over the Internet because the community doesn't believe in modern technology.
No problem with individuals deciding on what they want to do - but surely a KID has a right also to best treatment. Difficult area this whole scenario so I'm leaving this debate as it could get too much into the wrong sort of Politics.
Cheers
jimbo
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Hi there
Agreed - the better informed people are the better humanity is in the long run --- trouble is there are always the diehards who refuse to either use the facilities themselves - OK that's their choice - but what's worse is when they refuse to allow others such as their children or people under their control access to these services.
Not wanting to get into too much Politics here - but I've been to Lancaster in the USA -- If a Kid gets sick for example is it right that a Doctor can't be summoned by a mobile phone or even treatment given with help of Video over the Internet because the community doesn't believe in modern technology.
No problem with individuals deciding on what they want to do - but surely a KID has a right also to best treatment. Difficult area this whole scenario so I'm leaving this debate as it could get too much into the wrong sort of Politics.
Cheers
jimbo
You should really not mention politics.
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Hi there
agreed - but the whole thread appeared a bit political in nature -- once the title is called something like subsidizing xxxx to yyyyyy -- so perhaps this whole thread should not really be on the Forum in the first place as any subsidy means giving / taking from one group (whether or not they can afford it or whether it's correct to do so) and giving to another - whether or not they deserve it either so the whole thread is a bit "dubious" - even if well intentioned.
Cheers
jimbo
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I wonder who gets to pay the bill?
I read they are proposing the same type or the existing funding for the service as they use for lifeline cell phones like a ~ $1.00 surcharge on our retail ISP /Telco/cable /Sat bills and any federal funding that may or may not be be above that .
As I understand it the lifeline Cell phones are currently provided free of charge by the Telcos as 'promotions' but you can bet we pay for that on an accounting line somewhere in the income operating statement charged as an SAG (or other ) expense folded into the price of our retail ISP/Telco services .
Additionally the Telcos currently have to absorb the costs and perform the income /identity verification and enrollment of the L.I. participants in the lifeline services .
I'm sure the heat light and power utilities have similar arrangements to all the above for low income assistance .
I know PC's or iPads/PC pads and maybe printers are available for low income families with K-12 students at low cost from some of the the ISP's .I'm sure the funding is folded into the regular ISP bills one way or another or in a couple of ways . There are also federally funded programs I believe in grants to local school districts for the same thing.
and maybe some tax credits or funding grants to the ISP's
FWIW I read Telmex of Mexico ( AKA Carlos Slim) and maybe América Móvil, Latin America's largest mobile-phone carriers and maybe thier owned subsidiaries were some of the biggest US Lifeline cell phone service providers and a lot of the accounts were fraudulent throughout the industry in general and some of the the carriers and scammers got Billions and Millions in cash for providing nothing . There is nothing the government can't make worse
IOW we are paying for all this one way or another either from tax revenues and or in the cost of our retail Telco /ISP /DTV TV service
I don't object to the mandated small surcharges or even some federal funding for helping legitimate low income folks with essential phone services and the L.I. families with students with Telco & ISP data service just the lack of oversight , fraud waste and abuse typical of these things YMMV & that's fine .
Only thing we got like that for free when I grew up was electromagnetic radiation from radio and TV broadcasters 
Last edited by blutos cousin; 11 Mar 2016 at 14:00.
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Remember, It is not that easy to find dial-up in some areas. Yes, there are dial ups still around thanks to Juno & Netzero but other dial-ups are dropping like flies. :) In some cases dial-up cost almost as much as the high speed connections
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