Republican lawmakers are fighting a Biden administration attempt to bring cheap broadband service to low-income people, claiming it is an illegal form of rate regulation.
GOP leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced an investigation into the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is administering the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was approved by Congress in November 2021.
The federal agency told Virginia that “the low-cost option must be established in the Initial proposal as an exact price or formula.”
The Republicans said anecdotal evidence suggests “the NTIA may be evaluating initial proposals counter to Congressional intent and in violation of the law.”
The US law that ordered NTIA to distribute the money requires that Internet providers receiving federal funds offer at least one “low-cost broadband service option for eligible subscribers.”
An NTIA spokesperson told Ars that the agency is working to implement the law’s requirement that grant recipients offer an affordable service tier to qualifying low-income households.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Republican lawmakers are fighting a Biden administration attempt to bring cheap broadband service to low-income people, claiming it is an illegal form of rate regulation.
GOP leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced an investigation into the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is administering the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was approved by Congress in November 2021.
The federal agency told Virginia that “the low-cost option must be established in the Initial proposal as an exact price or formula.”
The Republicans said anecdotal evidence suggests “the NTIA may be evaluating initial proposals counter to Congressional intent and in violation of the law.”
The US law that ordered NTIA to distribute the money requires that Internet providers receiving federal funds offer at least one “low-cost broadband service option for eligible subscribers.”
An NTIA spokesperson told Ars that the agency is working to implement the law’s requirement that grant recipients offer an affordable service tier to qualifying low-income households.
The original article contains 456 words, the summary contains 166 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!