[ams6110]

> Internet access is critical at this point for even the most basic societal functions

No, it isn't. I'm at a tipping point of canceling my Comcast cable/internet because I don't think it's worth $80/month. 90% of what I do online at home is for entertainment. And I would guess that is the same for most households that don't have a tech worker. (I am a tech worker, but I've finally trained myself to not take work home).

Really the only reason I keep it is because I don't want to deal with griping from the kids.

[kalleboo]

Have you tried applying for jobs lately? Ok, so you can use the internet at a library. But you can't afford a car, so now you need to take the bus across town, with your the kids in tow...

[naranana]

The point is that you don't need a landline/broadband for any of those. 3G and a smartphone is more than enough.

[sethammons]

I would not want to apply to anything via a smart phone. While you may get away with 3g and a hotspot for getting through critical online activities like job applications, my experience has been that mobile carriers will charge for the ability to hotspot if they can. Not a solid option for the poor. A better option would be something like Juno/NetZero with N hours free per month, but with speeds that can actually handle today's bloated websites.

[naranana]

Why do you need a hotspot? You don't need a computer at all. Chances are, if you need subsidised internet, you can't afford a computer, anyway.

[Broken_Hippo]

Until you realize that the pre-paid phone service doesn't exactly work well for that and is rather expensive, and your refurbished phone doesn't work too well with modern websites.

I should also mention that not everywhere has access to a public library that is free to use. I lived next to one of those districts - the next township (and town) over didn't have one. Since they didn't pay taxes into the library, they had to pay a yearly fee. Only pre-school children were exempt.

[trafficlight]

How about simple things like finding a phone number for a business? Or a map and directions to an address?

Phone books used to be the primary source of that information, but they are getting thinner and thinner as the years go on. Not to mention it's only updated once a year.