Ohio’s Office of Consumer Counsel urged the PUC to deny Embarq’s ...
Ohio’s Office of Consumer Counsel urged the PUC to deny Embarq’s request for permission to sell vertical features and service bundles to Lifeline customers. PUC regulations bar sale of vertical features like caller ID or call waiting to Lifeline…
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customers unless needed for medical or safety reasons. Embarq sought a waiver of the option ban, saying Lifeline customers should have access to such features rather than being segregated into an inferior class (Case 00-1532- TP-COI). Embarq said FCC Lifeline rules don’t bar purchase of vertical services, and none of 17 other where states it operates bar Lifeline customers from buying them. But the OCC said Lifeline customers by definition are low-income households. Such households, the OCC said, may have trouble paying phone bills if they add vertical services. It said the fact that the FCC and other states allow Lifeline customers to buy vertical services doesn’t make it a good idea for Ohio. It said Lifeline customers may dislike a rule meant to protect them, but could be even less happy if they can’t pay their phone bills and put their local service at risk. But Embarq said Lifeline customers won’t lose their dial tone if they pay enough to cover their basic exchange charges.