Fwd: New Study Reveals that Many Americans Are Being Left Behind in the Telecommunications Revolution

[Gene Hastings <hastings@info-ren.org>]

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Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 14:23:21 -0400
Reply-To: roundtable@cni.org
From: Tracy Williams <tracy@cme.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <roundtable@cni.org>
Subject: New Study Reveals that Many Americans Are Being Left Behind
in the Telecommunications Revolution


For Immediate Release                       Contact:  Jeff Chester, CME
                                                             202-331-7833

                                                         John Wilcox, CPA
                                                         John Kennedy,CPA
                                                             202-387-6030

                                                           Willie Simmons
                                                             662-843-7673


States Lagging in Ensuring that Low-Income Consumers
Have Affordable Telephone Service

New Study Reveals that Many Americans
Are Being Left Behind in the Telecommunications Revolution


Washington, Oct 20, 1999: More than three years after Congress passed
the Telecommunications Act of 1996, millions of low-income consumers
are still without residential telephone service, despite new federal
policies designed to make phones in the home more affordable.  A
national study released today found that the majority of states "need
improvement" in how they address this issue.  Many other states
received "failing or near-failing" grades, because they have done
little to ensure low-income access to basic telephone service.

The report-by the Center for Media Education (CME) in cooperation
with the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA)-raises troubling
questions about the commitment of policymakers to ensuring that
low-income consumers benefit from the dramatic digital transformation
of our nation's economic and political institutions.  "When the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted through a bipartisan
effort, we heard a lot of promises that the new law would help
connect economically disadvantaged consumers to the Information
Superhighway," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of CME.
"But without a telephone in the home, many poorer Americans can't
even envision an online world.  Having a telephone is essential to
the health and safety of American families, and to the access of a
lot vital information.  It's disturbing that many low-income Americans
are still not being connected to the phone network."

"It is regrettable that Mississippi is receiving an 'F'," said Willie
Simmons, a State Senator from Mississippi.  "Mississippi has a
significant number of poor, yet we have a Governor who is not
sensitive to the needs or well-being of the poor.  Lifeline is a very
much needed program for the poor-it gives them the ability to access
critical information, such as health care information, over the
telephone.  Many of our poorest seniors-many with deteriorating
health-can't afford basic telephone service and could really
benefit from the Lifeline program."

The goal of the new study was to determine whether states had
effectively implemented Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
policies adopted in 1997, which were designed to dramatically
improve low-income access to residential telephone service.  At that
time, the FCC's "Lifeline" program-its Universal Service plan for
low-income consumers-offered states a two-to-one match in federal
funds (up to $7.00 per low-income household, per month, if the state
provided $3.50 a month in support).  Through this program, low-income
consumers in fully participating states would be eligible for $10.50
in monthly support, making phone service significantly more affordable
for these households.  According to a recent Department of Commerce
report, 6.14 million households, or 5.9% percent of all Americans, do
not have telephone service.  The principal reason for lack of telephone
service, according to the Consumer Federation of America, is the
prohibitive expense for many low-income households.

"Frankly, we were both surprised and discouraged to learn how poorly so
many states fared in our study of support for basic telephone access,"
observed Linda Tarr-Whelan, president and CEO of CPA.  "The telephone,
after all, is one of the essential tools of our democracy, and the basic
link to many of the services of the Information Age.  It's frightening
to think how many Americans are being left out of this information loop.
Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do in addressing this basic
need."

"I plan on making contact with several state agencies to see if we can
identify some discretionary funds that we can utilize as our state
match for the Lifeline program," Simmons continued.  "If that's not
successful, I plan on introducing legislation when the legislature
reconvenes in January to make matching funds available so this very
needed program can get off the ground in Mississippi."

The survey was sent to all 50 state public utility commissions (as well
as the District of Columbia) and to scores of state consumer utility
advocates.  Forty-three states and the District of Columbia responded.
Based on criteria that reflected the extent of their implementation of
the Lifeline program policies, states received letter grades from "A"
to "F." A number of states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma,
and South Dakota received failing grades.  Others, such as Delaware,
Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
Oregon and South Carolina, received "D" grades.  Fourteen states
received a "C "grade, indicating that they need to improve their
Lifeline policies.  The remaining states received "B" grades, with only
two states (Maine and Tennessee) earning an "A." (Complete results,
including individual state ratings, can be found in the full report,
which is available online at <http://www.stateaction.org/cme/cmeform.cfm>.)

CME and CPA plan to brief federal and state policymakers about the
report and to urge them to take the appropriate legislative and
regulatory actions to improve state compliance with the Lifeline
program.

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The Center for Media Education is a national non-profit organization
dedicated to improving the quality of electronic media, especially on
the behalf of children and families.

The Center for Policy Alternatives is the nation's leading nonprofit,
nonpartisan public policy and leadership development center devoted
to community-based solutions that strengthen families and communities.
CPA engages elected, nonprofit and private sector leaders across the
50 states to envision and realize progressive solutions for America's
future.

The report is available on the following websites:

     http://www.stateaction.org/cme/cmeform.cfm

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