FCC's Lifeline Compromise Falls Apart

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

It appears that a last-minute Lifeline reform compromise proposal has fallen apart, and the vote at the delayed public meeting is again expected to be 3-2 along party lines, with no hard cap and the Lifeline fund upped to $2.25 billion, an FCC source confirmed

A compromise had been hammered out last Wednesday night, according to multiple sources, that would have given Republican commissioners much of what they wanted and would have secured their votes. After some last-minute rethinking on the other side--reportedly by commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the item appears to be back to where it was early Wednesday.

More to come.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.