US regulators stopping 9 firms from providing subsidised Internet

Washington

US REGULATORS are telling nine companies they won't be allowed to participate in a federal programme meant to help them provide affordable Internet access to low-income consumers - weeks after those companies had been given the green light.

The move, announced on Friday by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. I…