Lifeline Service Seller's Bid for FCC to Address Program ‘Shortcomings’ Gets Backing
TracFone got support from industry and public interest groups for the FCC to address “serious shortcomings” in the Lifeline national verifier being deployed by Universal Service Administrative Co. Commission and industry officials said it’s not clear if FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will press for further action, especially since his agency is reining in the program as part of changes to the USF (see 1806060031). Without FCC action, mass de-enrollments will start Jan. 2, commented the National Lifeline Association in docket 17-287. Lifeline funds are used to pay for government-subsidized services including broadband for the poor. The national verifier needs an application programming interface to work properly, stakeholders say.
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“I don’t think that business operational shortcomings are what Chairman Pai is focusing on at all, even though these shortcomings will adversely affect Lifeline-eligible consumers,” said Danielle Frappier of Davis Wright, who represents some Lifeline providers.
An FCC official said companies in affected states had 90 days to reverify consumers when their identities couldn’t be reverified by the database. If the national verifier couldn’t verify a subscriber’s eligibility through a database, company documents or from the consumer, the consumer faces de-enrollment, but can re-enroll.
“TracFone wants to work with USAC and the commission to make the National Verifier a success,” a spokesperson emailed: The system “cannot be so user-unfriendly that eligible low income applicants across the country are turned away.”
USAC’s changes to “eligibility proof requirements are overly burdensome, and prevent too many eligible recipients from receiving Lifeline,” said groups including the Benton Foundation, Center for Rural Strategies, Free Press and National Hispanic Media Coalition. “The Commission should require USAC to take better, more-targeted and well-vetted steps to improve program integrity and enrollment, while abandoning the Chairman’s disastrous proposals to upend Lifeline altogether.”
TracFone “demonstrates that changes to eligibility requirements often demand a careful balance between program integrity and encouraging participation,” CTIA said. “Many of the items on TracFone’s list will improve the efficiency of the National Verifier system,” Sprint commented.