THE INTERNET IS NOT A LUXURY. NEITHER IS A PHONE THAT WORKS.

JUSTICE · SOCIAL JUSTICE

Published by Langhorne P. Breedlove

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2026 · 12:31 AM ET

Tags: Broadband · Mobile Service · Universal Access · Digital Equity · Public Infrastructure

Dear fellow American proletariat: To apply for a job, schedule a doctor's appointment, follow a school announcement, access government services, or explain to a bank that you are, in fact, the person who owns your own money, Americans increasingly need an internet connection and a working phone. We have built a civilization in which nearly every doorway begins with a verification code, then congratulated ourselves for making the doorway optional.

American Proletariat proposes dependable residential internet and essential mobile voice, text, and data access as universal public-service guarantees. That means actual service—not merely the right to purchase an increasingly expensive plan, provided a provider has bothered to run a line down your road.

THE MANDATE

Establish a baseline entitlement to an affordable, usable broadband connection for every household and essential mobile connectivity for every resident, with special arrangements for children, people without stable housing, Tribal communities, and people with disabilities. AP proposes to make a basic service tier available at no out-of-pocket charge to qualifying users, with a long-run universal design subject to legislative funding and eligibility decisions. Premium speeds, extra devices, and commercial usage may carry separate charges.

The public guarantee must cover availability, affordability, reliability, accessibility, consumer privacy, and a workable device pathway. Home broadband and mobile connectivity are complementary: a household connection cannot follow a worker onto a bus, and a small phone screen is not an adequate substitute for every classroom, telehealth session, or job application. The promise is universal access to a defined essential service—not unlimited free international roaming or a platinum family plan for a mansion with twelve televisions.

ROOTS & HISTORY

The concept of universal communications service predates broadband. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 revised federal communications law to require principles of universal service, including access at just, reasonable, and affordable rates; access in rural and high-cost areas; and support for schools, libraries, and rural healthcare providers. Under section 254, the Federal Communications Commission administers a system of support programs rather than a single guaranteed free connection for every American. (Source 01)

The Universal Service Fund came to support four major programs: high-cost-area connectivity, Lifeline for qualifying low-income households, E-Rate for schools and libraries, and rural healthcare connectivity. A connection used to be explained primarily as a way to speak to another person. Today it is a pathway into almost every public and commercial institution. The law's underlying access principle remains relevant even while the technology and consumer expectations change. (Sources 01, 02)

TODAY · THE PROBLEM

The FCC's 2024 broadband assessment estimated that more than 24 million Americans lacked access to fixed service meeting its updated 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload benchmark. Nearly 19 million of those people lived in rural areas, and approximately 700,000 people on Tribal lands lacked such fixed availability. These are the agency's 2024 deployment estimates, not a claim that the same number remains unserved in November 2026. (Source 03)

A different obstacle is cost. The Affordable Connectivity Program once provided eligible households up to $30 a month toward broadband, or up to $75 on qualifying Tribal lands. The program stopped accepting new enrollments in February 2024 and ended June 1, 2024, after funding ran out. At its enrollment freeze it counted 23,269,550 households. That is evidence of program participation—not proof that all those households became disconnected when support ended. (Sources 04, 05)

The smaller Lifeline program remains active. Its ordinary discount is up to $9.25 monthly for qualifying broadband or bundled service, with enhanced support up to $34.25 for eligible residents on qualifying Tribal lands; standalone voice support is subject to different limits. An eligibility test, participating-provider requirement, and one-benefit-per-household rule make Lifeline something narrower than AP's proposed universal service. (Source 06)

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, or BEAD, was authorized at $42.45 billion to support expansion of high-speed infrastructure through states and territories. This money is predominantly a capital deployment mechanism, not a permanently funded promise that every household's monthly internet bill disappears. Existing BEAD appropriations must be counted in the baseline and their spending rules respected; AP cannot spend the same dollar twice by renaming the program. (Source 07)

THE LEGAL PATH

Congress can legislate a new connectivity benefit, eligibility rules, direct appropriations, carrier obligations, accountability standards, and changes to the Communications Act. FCC rulemaking and administration would implement powers actually granted by statute. State and local governments, Tribal nations, and public utilities would remain central to permitting, rights of way, consumer protections, and infrastructure governance. The existing universal-service statute does not automatically authorize every feature of a free nationwide mobile-and-home package. (Sources 01, 02)

Any new funding design must address the Universal Service Fund's financial structure. A 2026 Congressional Research Service analysis described pressure on the contribution base, with the assessment rate rising as legacy telecommunications revenues declined. Funding a larger entitlement by simply increasing the existing surcharge could shift costs onto other subscribers and produce an unstable revenue source. (Source 08)

THE PLAN

01 · DEFINE THE ESSENTIAL CONNECTION

Legislate transparent minimum download and upload performance, latency, reliability, customer support, accessibility, and mobile voice/text/data allowances. Publish how standards increase over time and how rural, remote, and mobile-only households are handled. The floor must be technically adequate for schoolwork, telehealth, employment searches, emergency communication, and ordinary civic participation—not a connection that qualifies only when nobody actually uses it.

02 · BUILD WHERE THERE IS NO SERVICE

Coordinate federal infrastructure investment with existing BEAD grants and the FCC's broadband availability maps, with independent verification of service and realistic construction deadlines. Support competitive bids and multiple technologies where they actually perform. Recognize Tribal sovereignty in deployment decisions and require meaningful consultation, not a check-the-box invitation sent after the route is already chosen.

03 · MAKE BASIC SERVICE AFFORDABLE

Evaluate an automatic enrollment pathway through existing public-benefit and tax systems, with strong identity protection and an alternative route for people who are unbanked, unhoused, or missing standard paperwork. Establish a basic no-cost tier for qualifying users and a phased expansion path, while avoiding abrupt benefit cliffs. Pay providers against verified active service and quality, not against a marketing brochure.

04 · INCLUDE MOBILE ACCESS AND DEVICES

Provide an essential mobile service option with reliable calling, texting, emergency access, and practical data capacity. Make number portability, lost-device recovery, disability accommodations, and affordable basic devices part of delivery. A subscriber who loses a handset should not lose the only way to access their job schedule, benefits, or medical appointments.

05 · PROTECT PRIVACY AND OPEN COMPETITION

Prohibit sale or inappropriate use of subsidy enrollment data; require understandable bills, competitive provider choice where feasible, clear outage reporting, and independent complaint resolution. Evaluate municipal, cooperative, Tribal, nonprofit, and commercial networks under consistent service standards. Public support should purchase measurable access, not a permanent entitlement for any particular carrier.

THE TEN-YEAR LEDGER

YEAR ONE · ESTIMATE PENDING. Establish a current-law baseline for Lifeline, the Universal Service Fund, existing BEAD allocations, relevant state efforts, and federal administrative expenses. Then estimate incremental eligible households and individuals, basic-plan reimbursements, device support, new infrastructure, customer service, fraud prevention, and oversight. Report take-up rates and average subsidy separately; multiply neither by the entire U.S. population without accounting for existing service and eligibility.

YEARS TWO THROUGH TEN · ESTIMATE PENDING. Produce annual forecasts for residential and mobile benefits, network construction and maintenance, rural and Tribal deployment, inflation and technology upgrades, devices, administration, and any effects on existing federal programs. Compare at least three take-up and cost scenarios, with explicit treatment of provider pricing responses, market concentration, and whether subsidies crowd out private investment or stimulate demand.

One transparent illustration—not a budget score: a $40 monthly subsidy for 10 million households would cost $4.8 billion per year in direct benefits before administrative costs, infrastructure, mobile service, and behavioral effects. A 20-million-household scenario at the same monthly benefit would cost $9.6 billion per year. The purpose of these calculations is to reveal the scale of the commitment; AP has not yet adopted either benefit amount or enrollment assumption.

Because BEAD is an infrastructure program and Lifeline is an ongoing consumer discount, their cost categories and funding sources must remain separate. The ten-year ledger should show net new federal outlays and any legally valid offsets without pretending that a capital grant pays for a perpetual monthly subscription.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

A poorly designed subsidy could be captured through higher provider prices, weak competition, duplicate enrollment, or payments for service that does not function. A universal entitlement could prove far more expensive than a targeted tier, while narrow eligibility could exclude people with legitimate needs. Remote deployment can cost substantially more than urban service, and advertised speeds may not match actual performance during peak usage.

Government-run eligibility systems also create privacy risks. A connectivity benefit should never become a backdoor registry of where people travel, whom they call, what they read, or which political opinions they hold. Service quality needs independent measurement and appeals processes; cybersecurity and outage resilience must be budgeted, not appended as a cheerful final paragraph.

The strongest objection is fiscal and operational: providing both residential and mobile service nationwide might be expensive, and subsidies without adequate market design could raise prices or weaken incentives to expand networks. The answer must be comparative evidence, cost controls, phased deployment, and transparent evaluation—not an assurance that broadband gets cheaper because we really, really believe in it.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Track the number of locations with independently verified service, household subscriptions, mobile coverage, measured upload/download performance, latency, outages, effective out-of-pocket costs, device access, complaints, provider switching, and user outcomes for job applications, school access, and telehealth. Publish results for rural counties, Tribal lands, territories, people with disabilities, low-income communities, and households facing unstable housing. Report program costs and error rates annually.

THE POINT

A country that routes its schools, hiring systems, tax filings, healthcare, and civic institutions through the internet cannot treat access as an afterthought. We need reliable networks, actual competition, sensible consumer protection, and a public guarantee designed around the human being who must use the service.

This is not about giving everybody a luxury phone. It is about ending the absurdity of an American being told to go online for help, then being denied the means to get online. We can build a system that works. The difficult part is deciding to fund and administer it responsibly.

E pluribus unum, bitches.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

01 · Congressional Research Service — The Universal Service Fund: Overview and Considerations for Congress, January 21, 2026. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R47621.html

02 · Congressional Research Service — The Universal Service Fund's E-Rate Program: Overview and Current Regulatory Activity, August 17, 2026. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IF13289.html

03 · Federal Communications Commission — 2024 Section 706 Report on Broadband Deployment, FCC 24-27. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-27A1.pdf

04 · Universal Service Administrative Company — Affordable Connectivity Program: Program Closure and Prior Benefits. https://www.usac.org/about/affordable-connectivity-program/

05 · Universal Service Administrative Company — ACP Enrollment and Claims Tracker, February 8, 2024 enrollment freeze. https://www.usac.org/about/affordable-connectivity-program/acp-enrollment-and-claims-tracker/

06 · Universal Service Administrative Company — About Lifeline: Standard and Enhanced Tribal Benefits. https://www.lifelinesupport.org/about-lifeline/

07 · National Telecommunications and Information Administration — Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, $42.45 Billion Authorization. https://www.ntia.gov/funding-programs/internet-all/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead-program

08 · Congressional Research Service — The Universal Service Fund Contribution Base: Considerations for Congress, July 30, 2026. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IF13280.html

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WE ARE ONE.  ·  E PLURIBUS UNUM.