Sohn Hails 'Firestorm' Over FCC Reversal of Lifeline Broadband Designations
Gigi Sohn trumpeted the backlash against FCC revocation of Lifeline broadband provider designations. "To my great surprise and delight, the recent move by the [FCC's] new majority to revoke the designations of nine companies as Lifeline providers has provoked a…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
firestorm in the press, on social media, and on the Hill," wrote Sohn, a counselor to previous FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, in a commentary circulated by the Benton Foundation Thursday. "The furor has been so intense that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai felt moved to defend the decision on Medium this week. But the Chairman doth protest too much. His thin arguments fail to mask two clear truths: (1) His actions will make the market for Lifeline broadband services less competitive, limiting choice and keeping prices high. As a result, fewer low income Americans will be able to afford broadband; and (2) He, and fellow FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, fundamentally disagree with the structure and goals of the Lifeline program and will seek to undermine it in word and deed." She provided rebuttals to Pai's arguments (see 1702070062), and called it ironic "that a Chairman, who highlighted in his very first speech that closing the digital divide would be one of his core goals, would so quickly act to widen it." Pai's office didn't comment.