FCC To Launch New Lifeline Public Notice
The FCC will issue a new public notice on reforming the Lifeline program, a commission official said. It could come out as early as Friday. It will ask questions about the pilot notification program in Tennessee (CD July 27 p11), how a “one-per-residence” rule would be phrased and how to determine eligibility and duplication. It also will ask how to structure a national database on duplicate benefits, whether and how to build a national database for eligibility, and whether to cap the Lifeline fund, the official told us.
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Proposals for a cap have generated the most heated comments on the Lifeline docket (CD June 21 p14). Commissioner Anne Boyle of the Nebraska Public Service Commission said Thursday that even though the fund has grown, it’s underutilized in states like hers. The fund could also be subject to waste and abuse, she said. There have to be tools in place to prevent duplication and verify eligibility, she said. But it could be expensive to get a national database up and running, she said. She said she’s pleased with the FCC’s action, and hopes the agency can address the issue of self-certification.
Any national database will need to be coordinated with states, said Commissioner James Cawley of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. A national database should be linked to states’ programs, he said. That means funding is needed to link the programs and maintain the database, among other things, he said. An FCC spokesman had no comment on the notice.
It appears that the FCC’s Lifeline team is working fast to have an order drafted by September, said Rick Brecher, counsel for Tracfone. The commission has been actively reaching out to stakeholders, he said. Two national databases are needed to enable eligible telecom carriers to conduct real-time determination on duplicates and verify eligibility, he said. For states that already have Lifeline databases, it would be easier to merge their data into the national database, he said. Brecher said he’s very concerned about proposals to cap the fund and implementing mandatory minimal charges. Meanwhile, it’s going to be difficult to draft rules for one-per-residence, he said. There would be many exceptions due to various living situations, he said.