The value of Lifeline

A 2013 Pew study found that 15 percent of Americans do not use the Internet at all.  19 percent cite the expense of owning a computer or paying for access as the reason for their non-use, while another 7 percent cite lack of availability or access.

In an earlier Pew study (2010), 43 percent of survey respondents indicated that individuals without broadband at home were at a major disadvantage in learning about job opportunities or gaining career skills.

Using 2013 Pennsylvania county data (N=67) and examining the impact of access to high speed broadband and other characteristics have on the labor market, it was found that for every 10 percent increase in high speed broadband penetration, the unemployment rate declined by 1.8 percent.   

Variable	Ln(Unemployment Rate)
Intercept	5.30***
Ln(% pop with high speed broadband)	-0.018*
Ln(pop/square mile)	-0.014
Ln(% pop with BS degree or higher)	-0.226***
Ln(% pop that is white)	-0.554***
R2 = .40	Significance *** 1%, **5%, *10%

Data source: www.broadbandmap.gov

Making broadband access more affordable to low income households through the Lifeline program can potentially reduce structural unemployment.  Inadequate safeguards against past program abuses must be rectified, rather than used as excuses not to expand it.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/technology/republicans-resist-fcc-proposal-for-lifeline-broadband-subsidies.html?_r=0