Legal Aid's Role in the Fight for Telecommunications and Computer Access in Low-Income Communities

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Low-income communities have inadequate telecommunications access, but they are not without remedies. "Universal access" to telecommunications services is required by the Communications Act of 1934, and representing legal aid clients in proceedings before state public utility commissions and the Federal Communications Commission can help address this digital divide. A community organization in Dayton, Ohio, has helped families get and keep telephone service, created community computer centers, and begun to address inequitable telecommunications investment.

By Ellis Jacobs From July - August 2003