The F.C.C. is billing the initiative as the biggest effort ever to help close the digital divide. Because no federal funds are being invested, the initiative relies in large part on the cooperation of private companies. One such company, Comcast, started offering $9.99 monthly broadband service to some low-income households this year after promising the F.C.C. that it would do so when it acquired control of NBCUniversal.
The goal of the FCC is to bring the 100 million Americans who currently do not have access to the web online. The plan is to offer these $9.99 plans to low income families for up to two years.