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PCCA Journal|3

rd

Quarter 2015

34

Telecom News

Continued from page 33

Lawmakers Seek Lifetime

Assistance for Broadband

S

en. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-

N.J.), and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) introduced

legislation to reform and modernize the Universal

Service Fund (USF) Lifeline Assistance Program—

which currently subsidizes basic landline and mobile phone

services for low-income Americans—by making subsidies

for broadband Internet services also available to eligible

households. The Broadband Adoption Act of 2015, which is

cosponsored by four other Democratic senators, will instruct

the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish

a broadband Lifeline Assistance program and will help bridge

the digital divide by making in-home online services more

affordable across the country.

The introduction of the Broadband Adoption Act comes

just days after the FCC announced a new effort to usher the

Lifeline Program into the Internet Age. Murphy, Booker, and

Matsui praised the FCC’s proposal and hope that the FCC,

which has the authority to update the Lifeline Program on its

own, makes subsidized Internet access available to tens of

millions low-income Americans.

“Whether you’re looking to find a job, enroll in health

insurance, shop online, or communicate with your child’s

teacher, Internet access today is absolutely essential to eco-

nomic and social well-being,” Murphy said. “But the facts

state clearly that low-income Americans disproportionately

lack access to broadband service and the opportunities that

come with it. In Connecticut, thousands of residents in places

like Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford have one hand tied

behind their back because they lack the ability to pay for an

Internet connection. Our Broadband Adoption Act will help

put an end to this inequity and ensure that Lifeline contin-

ues to provide the life-changing services it was created to

provide.”

The FCC has estimated that nearly 100 million Americans

Study Sees Boom in

Security Monitoring Services

A

growing roster of smart

home services and device

providers are using home

security monitoring as a

beachhead to introduce home automa-

tion services. In the key U.S. market, a

bellwether for developed markets around

the world, some 15 million more U.S.

homes will invest in new connected

home security services in the next five

years, according to ABI Research.

“After decades where penetration into

U.S. households stalled, home security

adoption is set for significant growth.

However, it will not be the sole preserve

of traditional professionally monitored

home security providers. Consumers

can now choose from an array of non-

traditional suppliers, new technologies,

and innovative services that balance

value with cost,” said Jonathan Collins,

principal analyst.

Through managed smart home offer-

ings from retailers such as Lowes and

Staples as well as standalone devices

such as video cameras from Dropcam

or smart locks from Kwikset, consumers

increasingly have the option to install

and monitor their own security systems.

Demand for such smart home systems

will outpace those for traditional profes-

sional monitored security subscriptions

as, among other attractions, they ditch

the installation fees, monthly payments,

and long service contracts of the tradi-

tional offerings.

At the same time, professionally moni-

tored security service providers such

as Frontpoint Security and NextAlarm

offer solutions where users self-install

their devices, or can integrate existing

dormant installations into new IP-based

services.

“Self-install and self-monitor home

security solutions are real threats to the

standard business models offered by

traditional vendors,” said ABI Research

Practice Director Dan Shey. “While

matching these solutions is one option,

traditional vendors need to look for ways

to better integrate their core services

with partner smart home services. These

can range from call-center monitoring as

a plug-in service to bringing home video

monitoring into the call center.