It’s a link to Online WSJ that requires log in so I can’t read the whole story.
My gut tells me that this ‘fee’ is just another revenue stream for government. Nothing in what is freely visible in the excerpt tells me HOW they will combat the potential fraud. For instance, how will that fee be used? Will it be used to verify eligibility? Will it go to the vendor? To some nondescript fund that gets used up for other things?
I need more information before I’d say good or bad.
The point here is that people will be less likely to have multiple phones that they sell to others if they have to shell out $5/mo. It’s not about how the revenue is used, it’s about discouraging fraud.