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Federal regulators approved a contentious plan Thursday to expand a $9.25-a-month phone subsidy for low-income people to include Internet service, after a skirmish over the provision delayed action by several hours.
The final vote by the Federal Communications Commission was 3-2, along party lines, approving a plan advanced by the panel’s Democrats.
The expansion of the Lifeline subsidy, which has been in the works for several years, is intended to help lower-income people who have trouble affording broadband service on their own. Many experts worry that a digital divide is emerging between lower-income and higher-income households, at a time when Internet service has become important for everything from school work to job searches to veterans benefits.