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Federal Communications Commission
445 12th 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:
May 10, 2010 Mark Wigfield at (202) 418-0253
Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov
FCC RELEASES TELEPHONE PENETRATION BY INCOME REPORT
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission today released a 
report presenting data on the percentage of households with telephone service on a state-
by-state basis for various income categories.  The report presents telephone penetration 
statistics based on individual household data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) 
conducted by the Census Bureau in March 2009.
This report, which is updated annually, provides more detailed information on 
telephone penetration to complement the information available in Telephone 
Subscribership in the United States, which is published three times a year.  Specifically, 
this report is designed to track the effects of federal and state Universal Service Fund 
Lifeline and Linkup support mechanisms that defray the cost of telephone service for 
low-income consumers.
Report Highlights
§ In March 2009, penetration among low-income households (under $10,000 annual 
income in 1984 dollars or $20,732 annual income in 2009 dollars) nationwide was 
90.4%.  This contrasts with an overall nationwide penetration rate of 95.6% in March 
2009, and represents an increase of 0.7% over the March 2008 nationwide penetration 
rate among low-income households of 89.7%.
§ Since 1985, when the FCC first established Lifeline to help low-income households 
afford the monthly cost of telephone service, penetration rates among low-income 
households have grown from 80.0% to 90.4%.
§ States that have provided a high level of lifeline support for telephone service for 
low-income consumers experienced an average growth in penetration of 4.6% for 
low-income households from March 1997 to March 2009.  In contrast, states that 
provided a low level of lifeline support experienced an average growth of 2.9% in 
telephone penetration rates for low-income households between March 1997 and 
March 2009.
§ Among states, penetration rates among low-income households ranged from a high of 
97.0% to a low of 81.1% in March 2009.
This report is available in the FCC's Reference Information Center, Courtyard 
Level, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Call Best Copy and Printing, Inc. at 
(202) 488-5300 to purchase a copy.  This report also can be downloaded from the 
Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports Internet site at www.fcc.gov/wcb/stats.
-FCC-
Wireline Competition Bureau contact: James Eisner at (202) 418-0940; TTY (202) 418-
0484.
News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found
on the Commission’s web site www.fcc.gov.