Friday - June 10, 2016

There isn’t a woodpile tall enough

But don’t worry, YOU’RE PAYING FOR IT.  So prepare to pay more. Three times as much.

The federal subsidy known as the “Obamaphone” or “Obamanet” program could be losing nearly $500 million to fraud annually, according to a top Republican on the Federal Communications Commission.

Commissioner Ajit Pai made the accusation Wednesday in letter to the Universal Service Administrative Company, referring to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which provides a monthly $9.95 subsidy for telecom service to low-income consumers.

The subsidy is limited to one per “independent economic household,” or IEH, but telecom companies have the ability to override that restriction if applicants check a box stating they represent a separate household, even if they have the same address.

...

Pai wrote that data obtained by the FCC last month revealed carriers had enrolled nearly 4.3 million subscribers using the IEH override process between October 2014-April 2016, or 35.5 percent of total subscribers for the period. “It is alarming that over one-third of subscribers — costing taxpayers almost half a billion dollars a year — were registered through an IEH override.

...

The program was originally established to help low-income consumers in rural areas obtain access to 911 services. It was expanded to include cellular devices in more recent years, and expanded in March to include Internet service.

Right. Free cell phones for all my peoples. And now, free internet. And not some lame slappy internet. Broadband baby, the good shit.

Not that this is anything new, nor is it even the full story or even the real number of the cheaters. This is just the number of NEW cheaters, more than a third of all new signees. Old cheaters are still in the system ...

Last year [2011], a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million wireless accounts. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills. But observers complain that the program suffers from poor oversight, in which phones go to people who don’t qualify, and hundreds of thousands of those who do qualify have more than one phone.
...
an FCC audit of the program last year showed that many participants in the program were taking more than their fair share. According to Businessweek:

269,000 wireless Lifeline subscribers were receiving free phones and monthly service from two or more carriers.

Right. All of those accounts got squashed. But that was 4 years ago. How many million more accounts are there? 12.5 million in February 2012, about 12 million new ones from late 2014 to now, figure in at least 8 million new accounts from 2012 to 2014? That’s 33 million phones. More than one person in ten has free telephone service, courtesy of the government, aka your wallet? What the flippity fluck? Who the frick is paying for all this ??????????

Oh, you are. I am. And it’s about to get worse. All the little gibbs grabbers just got a service increase. Nice fat internet. With wi-fi I’m sure. So free porn and online games! Now let’s give them top end big screen name brand “phablets” so they don’t feel “out Jonesed” by the Joneses who actually work for a living and spend $800 hard earned dollars on a shit-hot smart phone (pretty stupid if you ask me, but I’m a Luddite, and it’s their money so it ain’t my business).

BOHICA, BOHICA ...

FCC commissioner: Expect a broadband Internet tax

The federal government cannot afford the subsidies being poured into telecommunication services, unless it’s planning to impose a new tax on broadband Internet Service, a member of the Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday.

“It’s telling that the agency is already spending money in anticipation of getting a greater amount of revenue from the Universal Service Fund,” FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told a Senate panel.

“We boosted the E-Rate budget by $1.5 billion per year last year. By all accounts, next month we’re going to expand the Lifeline program to broadband without any meaningful budget or cap. That money is already being spent, and it has to come from somewhere. I would respectfully submit to you that ultimately, it’s going to be in the form of a broadband tax,” Pai added.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2016 at 10:30 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Government • Racism and race relations •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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