ANNE FLAHERTY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Communications Commission wants to increase Americans’ phone fees slightly as a way to bring a high-speed Internet connection to nearly every classroom.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told reporters Monday that he wants to increase the amount of money the FCC can spend on school Internet connections, from $2.4 billion to $3.9 billion a year. He’d do that by tacking on modest monthly fees to consumers’ phone bills. Wheeler says the average consumer or business would pay an extra $1.90 a year per phone line.

Wheeler’s proposal has to be voted on first by the FCC’s five-member commission, on Dec. 11. The agency’s two Republican commissioners have opposed previous efforts to overhaul the FCC’s E-Rate program, which aims to wire schools and libraries with broadband connections.