Universal Service Fund support

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the telecom regulator in the United States, has approved a proposal to include broadband in its subsidy program for the low income Americans aiming to bridge the digital divide. The commission voted 3-2 to approve the proposal by FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, to expand the $9.25 monthly mobile phone subsidy to include broadband internet access. The agency’s three Democrats voted yea and its two Republicans nay.