Skip to main content

Proposed new $5 per year cellphone tax could be used to bring more U.S. schools online

You may have already heard of ConnectED, President Obama’s plan to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to 99 percent of America’s school students. The five year scheme was revealed back in June and at the time, there was vague talk about raising taxes on phone bills to help pay for the initiative – except it wasn’t clear whether this was fixed or mobile phones, or when such a tax would be implemented, if at all.

That question has been answered today, and it’s cellphone users who will be paying. White House officials, quoted in the New York Post, say each phone user will end up paying about $5 extra per year on their bill, or around $0.40 each month. It’s unlikely to break the bank, but it’s enough to notice.

Recommended Videos

It’s all still at the proposal stage, but rather than need to be approved by Congress, it’s being put in the hands of the FCC, which has the power to add additional, mandatory charges to fund programs such as ConnectED. If it goes ahead, the tax won’t stick around for ever, as it’s intended to end after three years. During this period of time, an estimated $6 billion would be amassed.

In return for the money, the ConnectED scheme will bring high speed Internet access to more schools (particularly in rural areas), train teachers, and buy more digital learning content. When ConnectED was introduced, President Obama said he had been inspired by countries such as South Korea, where 100 percent of its students had access to high speed Internet. In the U.S., he said, only 20 percent of students had access to Wi-Fi.

By sidestepping Congress, and proposing a further tax on consumers – in New York, mobile bills have ten different taxes added already – ConnectED’s funding plan has attracted controversy. The Washington Post says Republican politicians will put pressure on the FCC to refuse the scheme, while White House officials are concerned a worrying precedent will be set by Congress not having the final say on the use of public funds. The report says the FCC has begun examining the plan, but it could take up to a year before a decision is reached.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
T-Mobile home internet plans have changed, here’s what you should know
how to unlock your iphone use with another carrier t mobile hq sign feat 720x720

*Updated 6/12/2025 to include new plans, promotions and fiber internet service details

While Verizon was the first to deploy 5G home internet, users complained about their network being small at the time with intermittent connections. T-Mobile, while trailing Verizon with their 5G home internet service, at least launched with "nationwide" service that reached a lot more homes on the initial launch.

Read more
These three iOS 26 beta features are my favorite so far
The Liquid Design lock screen on the iOS 26 developer beta 1 running on the iPhone 16 Pro

For fans of the Apple ecosystem, it’s been an incredible week. Apple’s annual WWDC 2025 keynote revealed a whole new Liquid Glass design that’s unified across all its platforms. Also unified across all platforms is the numbering scheme, with iOS 26 designed to represent the year of release… plus one. 

The new platform doesn’t deliver one of the key things I asked for — multitasking, which is available on iPadOS 26 — but it does bring several new features that make the iPhone far more usable. 

Read more
Anker recalls a million power banks over fire risk — here’s what to do
Anker's PowerCore 10000 power bank.

Anker is recalling more than a million of its PowerCore 10000 power banks due to a risk of overheating that could lead to fire and burns.

The tech company has received 19 reports of fires and explosions linked to the power bank, which contains lithium-ion batteries. Two of the reports relate to minor burn injuries and required medical attention, while a further 11 reports cite property damage totaling more than $60,000, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Read more