Cricket looking for federal grant for wireless broadband

An interesting story around the prepaid wireless world is the SafeLink program which Tracfone uses to provide underprivileged families with cell phones. This works through the Universal Service Fund, which cellular consumers pay into monthly. Tracfone then uses that fund to provide a nominal number of monthly minutes to qualified low-income individuals and families. It looks like Cricket is going to try something similar, though they’ll be aiming for wireless broadband. Maisie Ramsay at Wireless Week has the story.

These funds would not come from the USF, but rather the federal Recovery Act — stimulus funds, if you will. They would then help provide wireless broadband to low-income individuals and families in Baltimore, Houston, Memphis, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. The idea is to provide the poor with the level of access as those better off.

“As we have seen in the results of the Portland pilot of Project Change Access, universal broadband is the key to economic revitalization in low-income communities that need growth in businesses and jobs the most,” said Dave Maquera, vice president, strategy at Leap, in a statement. “Cricket remains committed to bringing the benefits of wireless and mobile broadband to everyone, including low-income families who deserve the benefits of digital innovation that online access brings.”

This will inevitably bring about questions regarding redistribution of wealth. The funds, after all, would come from taxpayers, and the higher earners will be footing a lager portion of this project. But with the stimulus bill passed and a certain portion set aside for broadband, Cricket is simply trying to use it for a cause they feel just.

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