Court halts FCC plan to revoke low-income internet subsidies on tribal lands
A $25 monthly subsidy that’s meant to help low-income households on tribal lands get phone or internet service will remain in place for the time being, after a court found that the Federal Communication Commission’s plan to largely remove the subsidies seems to have been made without properly considering the harms to customers and businesses.
A federal court said on Friday that petitioners — including tribes, nonprofits, and wireless carriers — were likely to prove that the commission’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” meaning that it failed to fully consider the changes it was making. In particular, the court said, the FCC appears to have failed to look at whether residents of tribal lands will have alternative options to get...