Amidst protests over Title II, a politically divided FCC voted 3-2 (Republicans strongly dissenting) to approve an expansion of the FCC's E-rate program, which subsidizes advanced telecommunications for schools and libraries. They also agreed to raise the cap on E-rate subsidies by up to 16-cents per-phone line—the current tax on consumer phone bills is 99-cents per month for all Universal Service programs, the chairman said in announcing the proposal.
In addition to the protestors, also speaking out were witnesses from schools and libraries who said the expansion was crucial to learning in the digital age.
The E-rate (or education rate) is the Universal Service Fund subsidy on consumer phone bills that goes to getting advanced telecommunications to schools and libraries.
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