(1) Today’s telecommunications market offers 
consumers an array of social, economic, and edu-
cational communications. 
(2) Communications today also offer Americans 
better access to emergency assistance. 
(3) It is essential to the Nation’s continued 
progress for all sectors of the population to have 
adequate access to telecommunications. America 
must work to reduce and ultimately eliminate the 
harmful technological divide. 
(4) The Congress reaffirms the Nation’s public 
policy commitment to providing universal service. All 
consumers should have access to high-quality tele-
communications services at affordable rates. 
SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL SERVICE. 
Subsection (j) of section 254 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(j) LIFELINE ASSISTANCE; LINK UP AMERICA.— 
‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub-
section are— 
‘‘(A) to advance universal service; and 
‘‘(B) to ensure that high-quality tele-
communications services and other evolving 
telecommunication technologies, such as Inter-
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net access and broadband services, are available 
to low-income consumers at just, reasonable, 
and affordable rates. 
‘‘(2) CONTINUATION AND EXPANSION OF PRO-
GRAMS.—For the purposes described in paragraph 
(1), the Commission— 
‘‘(A) shall continue in effect the Lifeline 
Assistance Program and the Link Up Program; 
and 
‘‘(B) expand such programs under para-
graph (3). 
‘‘(3) EXPANSION.—The Commission shall ex-
pand the assistance provided through the Lifeline 
Assistance Program and the Link Up Program by 
allowing low-income consumers participating in such 
programs to choose to use such assistance for any 
one of the following: 
‘‘(A) Wire or wireless telephone service. 
‘‘(B) Internet access service. 
‘‘(C) Wire or wireless broadband service. 
‘‘(D) Any evolving technology the Commis-
sion deems consistent with the purposes de-
scribed in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—This sub-
section shall not be construed— 
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‘‘(A) to affect any program under this sec-
tion other than the Lifeline Assistance Program 
or the Link Up Program; or 
‘‘(B) except as inconsistent with the provi-
sions of this subsection, to affect the authority 
of the Commission to make modifications to the 
Lifeline Assistance Program or the Link Up 
Program. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘broadband service’ means 
high-speed Internet access service— 
‘‘(i) offering integrated access to voice 
communications, high-speed data service, 
video-demand services, and interactive de-
livery services; and 
‘‘(ii) transmitting data at speeds ex-
ceeding 200 kilobits per second, in at least 
one direction, from the user’s computer to 
the Internet or from the Internet to the 
user’s computer. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘Lifeline Assistance Pro-
gram’ means the Lifeline Assistance Program 
provided for by the Commission under subpart 
E of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (and 
any related or successor regulations). 
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‘‘(C) The term ‘Link Up Program’ means 
the Link Up Program provided for by the Com-
mission under subpart E of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations (and any related or suc-
cessor regulations).’’. 
SEC. 4. STUDY. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than May 1, 2008, the Fed-
eral Communications Commission shall conduct a study 
and submit a report to the Congress on the following: 
(1) The necessary benefit level for a household 
participating in the Lifeline Assistance Program or 
the Link Up Program which will encourage low-in-
come consumers to seek broadband service. 
(2) Projections on the potential of new 
broadband service consumers who would seek this 
service if economically accessible. 
(3) Industry requirements to provide broadband 
service access in underserved areas. 
(4) Data that accurately illustrates the extent 
of current deployment of broadband service to resi-
dential users. 
(5) Policy proposals conducive to addressing 
gaps in broadband service availability. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms 
‘‘broadband service’’, ‘‘Lifeline Assistance Program’’, and 
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‘‘Link Up Program’’ have the meanings given to those 
terms in section 254(j) of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended by section 3 of this Act. 
Æ 
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