U.S. federal regulators adopted Thursday a plan to boost telephone service on Indian tribal lands, which could lead to a hike in the average consumer phone bill by a penny a month. The Federal Communications Commission will boost aid to two programs by $28-$35 million, defraying the costs of establishing service on tribal lands as well as reducing monthly fees for those most in need. At present, approximately 47 percent of households on Indian reservations have telephone service compared with 74 percent of rural poor households elsewhere, earning an average family income of less than $5,000, according to the FCC. Under the raft of measures approved Thursday that will go into effect Oct. 1, the FCC increased the discount on local phone bills by as much as $25 under its Lifeline Assistance Program, allowing some customers to pay as little as $1 per month for basic local phone service.
