The FCC Wireline Bureau has been circulating an interim order...
The FCC Wireline Bureau has been circulating an interim order that it hopes will eliminate duplicate Lifeline/Link-Up payments, industry officials told us Wednesday. The interim order began circulating May 23 and is still being reviewed by the three commissioners, two…
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industry officials said. The order sets up an “allocation” system that allows telcos to cut off Lifeline benefits when they discover that Lifeline customers are already receiving subsidies, the officials said. The order is directed at at least 12 states, including Florida and Tennessee, the officials said. The commission plans to have a larger Lifeline/Link-Up overhaul in the near future, but wanted to address the duplication problems immediately because Lifeline is the fastest-growing section of the Universal Service Fund, industry officials said. The agency continues to piece together a database of Lifeline benefits, but has already found houses with as many as four separate subsidies, the industry officials said. The number of Lifeline homes in Florida rose by 263 percent between 2007-09, FCC records show (CD Feb 25 p7). A commission spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment.