FCC chief: Hike phone tax to fund high-speed school Internet

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler called Monday for an increase in the tax on phone lines to fund high-speed Internet for schools.

Wheeler, in a conference call with reporters. called the proposed hike in the Universal Service Tax modest -- about $1.92 per year for each household phone line. He suggested the payoff in adding $1.5 billion to the $2.4 billion the government now spends on the E-Rate Program is substantial.

"The same digital revolution that gave us Netflix and YouTube has also opened new worlds of educational opportunities for teachers, students and libraries," Wheeler said. "But, unfortunately, while the connected home is commonplace, the connected classroom and library is not."

Wheeler said the FCC will probably hold a vote on his proposal Dec. 11. If all three Democrats on the five-member board support it, it will pass.

Ajit Pai, one of the Republican commissioners, called the plan a "massive post-election tax increase." Pai and the other Republican, Michael O'Rielly, have called for a focus on rural schools, which are more likely than those in cities and suburbs to lack high-speed connections.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., supported Wheeler's plan.

"The fact that this funding is directed towards the education of every child in America has protected it from the kind of criticism that other programs [receive]," he said.