FCC Approves School Internet Plan

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WASHINGTON, D.C.: Some of the details of the universal service provision came out later in the day Wednesday when the FCC said the government would subsidize as much as 90 percent of Internet access costs for the nation's schools. More than 110,000 schools and approximately 50 million students and teachers stand to benefit from the program. Funds will be doled out according to a school's financial status. The average grant would pay for around 60 percent of the cost of connecting to and staying on the Internet. While the Administration touts the move as a way to level the playing field between rich and poor, it's mainly a subsidy aimed at the middle class schools that can afford to buy the expensive computers to hook those Internet connecting wires into. Rich schools don't need the money; poor ones can't afford the necessary computers anyway. Not quite eliminating the gap between the info haves and have-not's -- but at least a start.