Sprint Objects To FCC Lifeline Plans for Unlimited Mobile Voice and Phaseout of Support

Sprint supports the broadband expansion. But it has “deep concern” that elements of a draft order are “contrary to established Commission policy and statutory imperatives, and would undermine the provision of the voice services that are the core of the program upon which 14 million end users currently rely,” the company said in a filing Tuesday in docket 11-42 about a meeting last week with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

The carrier said FCC plans to require Lifeline mobile providers to offer unlimited voice beginning Dec. 1, and then to phase out support for stand-alone mobile voice would be “hugely disruptive” for low-income consumers, eliminating free mobile voice-only Lifeline plans. It also said the FCC “proposal to eliminate the Lifeline subsidy for mobile voice (in conjunction with the jump to unlimited minutes) but to retain this subsidy in full for wireline voice (with no change in performance standards) violates the long-held principle of competitive and technological neutrality” that was upheld in court. AT&T voiced similar concerns Monday, though it lauded other FCC proposals (see 1603140068).

The lowest retail price for unsubsidized prepaid unlimited voice service Sprint could find is $25 per month, well above the USF program’s $9.25/month subsidy. An FCC Fact Sheet “does not acknowledge this very significant difference in price; does not cite record evidence for the supposition that unlimited voice service is necessary for Lifeline service; and apparently ignores the impact of end-user co-pays on Lifeline subscription rates,” the company said. It voiced concern about “the rapid increase in the amount of data contemplated in the Fact Sheet, and whether the increase in tonnage is supportable.” Tracfone recently said FCC-proposed minimum service standards could force millions of Americans out of the program by effectively requiring low-income consumers to make co-pays they can’t afford (see 1603090040).

Sprint urged the FCC to grandfather existing Lifeline subscribers under their current plans through 2019 with $9.25/month support. It also asked the FCC to adopt “more realistic mobile voice minute requirements, such as average usage in the first year, increasing over the next three years,” with implementation at least one year after an effective date, rather than Dec. 1.

GCI said the proposed minimum standards requiring mobile providers in the program to offer 3G-level speeds and fixed providers to offer 10/1 Mbps speeds with 150 GB monthly usage allowances “could make Lifeline service infeasible in some communities in Alaska, and even where feasible could raise the price of Lifeline offerings beyond what many Lifeline eligible households can afford.” In a filing about a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, the carrier said upgrading service to isolated communities is the focus of a rural carrier “Alaska Plan” for rate-of-return USF high-cost reforms, which hasn't been adopted by the FCC. Even under that plan, some communities would remain dependent on “satellite backhaul for the foreseeable future,” it said.

GCI shared NTIA concerns that robust broadband minimum service requirements likely would reduce provider participation in Lifeline. FCC rules should afford low-income consumers “the dignity of picking for themselves what level of service best meets their needs,” the company said. GCI also urged the FCC to continue to define tribal lands in Alaska using the Bureau of Indian Affairs “definition of ‘reservation,’ which includes ‘Alaska Native regions established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.’” It suggested the FCC shouldn't limit enhanced tribal Lifeline support to low-density areas or to carriers that invested in their own networks in areas where they seek such support, though it didn't object to a general requirement that providers offering subsidized service be facilities based.

NCTA also said a “strict minimum speed standard would compel providers to deny low-income consumers the Lifeline discount on low-priced offerings that they otherwise would find attractive.” The group said “rather than precluding Lifeline recipients from using their discounts on low-cost broadband tiers at speeds below 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload, the Commission should allow them to choose among the same service offerings that are available to non-Lifeline subscribers.”

Smith Bagley Inc. is prepared to invest a redacted amount in capital and operating expenditures on tribal lands it serves to expand its coverage and make 4G network upgrades over the next five years, said a letter from SBI, which services tribal and non-tribal rural areas in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. “This proceeding will likely determine whether Tribal residents see these proposed investments. Without an increase in Tribal Lifeline support, SBI will be unable to undertake most of the planned investments in broadband infrastructure on Tribal Lands that are described in this letter. If legacy high-cost support is phased out for Tribal Lands, it is unclear that any investments can be made beyond major towns and highways.”

The FCC should allow nontraditional providers, “such as schools, libraries, and other anchor institutions” to participate in Lifeline even if they don’t qualify as eligible telecom carriers, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition said in a recent filing.