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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 July  13,  2001  Mike  Balmoris  at  (202)  418-  0253 
 Email:  mbalmori@  fcc.  gov 


 FCC  RELEASES  NEW  TELEPHONE  PENETRATION  REPORT 
 States  Qualifying  for  Maximum  Federal  Lifeline  Assistance 
 See  Telephone  Penetration  Increase 


 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  today 
 released  a  report  presenting  data  on  telephone  penetration  levels  on  a  state-  by-  state  basis 
 for  various  income  categories.  The  report,  which  covers  data  through  the  year  2000,  is 
 designed  to  help  assess  the  degree  of  success  in  making  telephone  service  available  to 
 low-  income  households  in  each  state. 


 Report  Highlights 
 ƒ  Between  1984  (prior  to  the  implementation  of  the  Lifeline  program)  and  1997,  states 
 with  the  federal  Lifeline  program  experienced  greater  increases  in  telephone 
 penetration  than  states  without  Lifeline  programs  –  nearly  1.5%  higher  for  all 
 households  and  over  3%  higher  for  low-  income  households.  The  Lifeline  program, 
 which  is  part  of  the  Universal  Service  Fund,  provides  certain  discounts  on  monthly 
 service  for  qualified  telephone  subscribers.  These  discount  amounts  have  varied  over 
 time.  Currently  the  discount  amounts  range  from  $5.25  to  $13.85  per  month, 
 depending  on  your  state  and  the  telephone  company. 


 ƒ  Effective  in  1998,  the  FCC  expanded  the  Universal  Service  Fund’s  Lifeline  program 
 by  offering  states  new  matching  funds.  States  that  have  taken  the  steps  necessary  to 
 qualify  for  maximum  federal  matching  funds  saw  telephone  penetration  for  all 
 households  rise  nearly  one  percentage  point  between  1997  (prior  to  the  expansion  of 
 the  Lifeline  program)  and  2000.  In  these  states,  low-  income  households  benefited 
 even  more  –  with  a  2.2%  increase  in  telephone  penetration. 


 ƒ  States  that  did  not  take  the  steps  necessary  to  qualify  for  full  federal  matching  funds 
 saw  no  significant  improvement  in  telephone  penetration  rates. 


 This  report,  which  is  updated  annually,  is  part  of  a  series  of  supplemental  reports 
 on  telephone  penetration  that  is  designed  to  complement  the  information  available  in 
 Telephone  Subscribership  in  the  United  States,  which  is  published  three  times  a  year. 


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 Like  the  subscribership  report,  this  report  is  based  on  data  from  the  Current 
 Population  Survey,  which  is  conducted  by  the  Census  Bureau. 


 This  report  is  available  in  the  FCC's  Reference  Information  Center,  Courtyard 
 Level,  445  12th  Street  SW,  Washington,  DC  20554.  Call  International  Transcription 
 Service  at  (202)  857-  3800  to  purchase  a  copy.  This  report  also  can  be  downloaded  from 
 the  FCC-  State  Link  Internet  site  at  <http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  ccb/  stats>. 


 -FCC-Common 
 Carrier  Bureau  contact:  Alexander  Belinfante  at  (202)  418-  0944;  TTY  (202) 
 418-  0484. 


 News  about  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  can  also  be  found 
 on  the  Commission’s  web  site  www.  fcc.  gov. 
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