Five rural carriers applied for $413,039.62 in funding from the FCC’s...
Five rural carriers applied for $413,039.62 in funding from the FCC’s broadband adoption pilot (http://xrl.us/bndrwh) and suggested two forms of pricing for Lifeline-eligible customers: “One, a flat discount equal to $25 per month over the 12 months of the program;…
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the other, a sliding discount that begins at $40 during the first three months of the program, moves to $30 during months 4 through 6, $20 during months 7 though 9, and $10 in months 10, 11 and 12. The total of each subsidy will equal $300 per customer over 12 months.” After a year, the carriers would evaluate to determine the effectiveness of each subsidy. The five joint applicants, all members of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, are Adams Telephone Co-Operative (Golden, Ill.), Alpine Communications (Elkader, Iowa), Leaco Rural Telephone (Hobbs, N.M.), Madison Telephone Co. (Staunton, Ill.) and Mid Century Telephone Cooperative (Fairview, Ill.). The carriers estimate “1,078 low income, rural customers will benefit from their proposed program” and they based their request for funds on “the individual ETCs’ best estimate of the number of Lifeline eligible customers who will participate,” the application said. They propose subsidizing the non-recurring installation fee and have partnered with Connected Nation to “provide free online digital literacy training” to customers and thus remove “two additional significant barriers to adoption,” the application said. The FCC announced the pilot in April with $25 million in overall funding.