‘It Just Makes Sense’ to Axe Tennessee Lifeline Program, AT&T Argues Amid Broader Lifeline Shifts
Tennessee’s Lifeline discount is “an unfunded regulatory mandate,” AT&T Tennessee External and Legislative Affairs Manager Paul Stinson testified Tuesday before the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (http://xrl.us/bnsgv5). He called the state Lifeline program “outdated, inconsistent with state legislative reforms, anti-competitive and discriminatory” and said it’s “irrelevant to consumers who now have free wireless Lifeline alternatives.” Tennessee telcos, including AT&T, CenturyLink, TDS Telecom and Frontier, have been arguing to end the state Lifeline credit altogether in an industry coalition that formed earlier this year. Twenty-one other states have their own Lifeline programs, said NARUC’s National Regulatory Research Institute July report (http://xrl.us/bnky6q).
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The federal program reimburses carriers, whereas the Tennessee’s $3.9-million state program does not, Stinson added. Tennessee has offered its state Lifeline program since 1991, which applies only to wireline service, he said. But broad changes federally as well as the FCC’s Lifeline reforms have ended any need for a local Lifeline, Stinson said. Eliminating the state Lifeline service will have “very limited impact” because increasing numbers of low-income people are choosing discounted wireless service rather than wireline, he said. “It just makes sense to eliminate it.” More than 93,600 Tennesseans used the state Lifeline benefits in 2011, less than a third of those who receive federal wireless discounts, according to authority data. CenturyLink agrees with AT&T’s position on eliminating the state Lifeline program, it said (http://xrl.us/bnsg24). The TRA asks all parties to submit pre-argument legal briefs by Oct. 20 and plans a conference on the topic in November (http://xrl.us/bnsg3k).
Other states are fighting to figure out how to fine-tune as well as market their Lifeline programs in recent weeks. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is grappling with what level of notification to provide subscribers about changes to Lifeline. It adopted new verification policies June 14 mirroring the FCC’s certification and re-certification policies, according to a Tuesday PUC inquiry. The inquiry wants to “solicit comments from eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) as to what specific notice to subscribers should be required and to subsequently provide any needed clarification,” the PUC said (http://bit.ly/RAGiqK). The Minnesota Department of Commerce had warned the PUC it had heard ETCs voicing “confusion as to the intent of the Commission’s Order with respect to the subscriber notification process” in a letter released Monday (http://bit.ly/WjOAnV). Comments are due Oct. 22 and replies Nov. 1. The Nebraska Public Service Commission asked the FCC to let the state opt out of the federal accountability database in a Monday filing with the federal agency (CD Oct 3 p18), as did the Texas Public Utility Commission Sept. 14 (http://xrl.us/bnshcq). These state commissions argued in favor of their own strong systems for preserving accountability.
Michigan, meanwhile, plans to promote its Lifeline discount more aggressively and utilize social media, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority said Sept. 26 at the Summit on Ending Homelessness (http://xrl.us/bnsgxp). The authority is partnering with the Michigan Public Service Commission and plans to promote Lifeline through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, it said. Several state commissions and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners celebrated Lifeline Awareness Week in mid-September with similar goals.