This week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced plans to increase funding for E-Rate, a federal program that helps connect schools and libraries in neighborhoods in need to the Internet.

Media industry watchers and Net Neutrality advocates may be justifiably skeptical of the Federal Communications Commission's Chairman Tom Wheeler.

But the beleaguered former wireless and cable industry lobbyist continues to complicate his public image with FCC initiatives -- beyond the contentious Open Internet arena -- which are gaining praise from advocacy groups concerned with universal education, the digital divide, and connectivity for low-income Americans, including Latinos.

Earlier this week, Wheeler announced his plans to propose a $1.5 billion increase in spending for a federal program bringing high-speed Internet access to schools and libraries in places where Americans are still stranded on the other side of the digital divide.

Increasing E-Rate Will Raise Your Phone Bill...

The program, known as E-Rate, is part of the Universal Service Fund. Its budget cap is currently $2.4 billion, but the FCC will request it be raised to $3.9 billion, according to a report based on what an anonymous, though authorized, FCC official told The New York Times.

The increase in spending would lead to an increase in most of average consumers' monthly phone bills -- but not by much. Wireless and landline phone companies must pay towards the Universal Service Fund by law, in order to help expand access to telecommunications for people and places in the U.S. that the market leaves behind. And many companies pass that cost onto consumers.

...(But Not by Much)

Those consumers shouldn't worry over the proposed increase emptying their wallets. If authorized, the $1.5 billion increase will only affect average phone bills to the tune of about $1.90 per year per phone line, according to Time.

The Reason for E-Rate

Because of infrastructure costs, the U.S.'s unique and expansive geography, and market imbalances (some might also point the finger at a stunning lack of local competition in the telecommunications industry), the digital divide disproportionally affects a lot of low-income and rural communities.

For example, The New York Times noted that about 70 percent of rural districts lack high-speed Internet, while schools in low-income, often urban, areas are three times more likely to fail to meet speed targets than those in affluent communities.

Broadband costs often vary wildly from place to place, as well: A Mississippi district Wheeler visited earlier this year paid $750 per month for a gigabit connection that serves its schools, while a similar district in nearby Louisiana had to pay $5,000 for the same connection, according to the Times report.

Latinos, the Digital Divide, and E-Rate

The lack of affordable or accessible Internet directly affects many low-income Latinos. While Latinos have been statistically shown to own smartphones at a disproportionally high rate compared to the average American, studies published as recently as 2013 looking at home broadband access via computers show that only 53 percent of Hispanic families have that kind of Internet access -- nearly 20 percent behind the national average.