Wheeler Aide Sohn Attempts To Address Concerns About Lifeline Proposals
Gigi Sohn, counselor to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, attempted to address concerns that have been expressed about the commission's Lifeline USF proposals to extend low-income support to broadband service and streamline program administration. Mobile voice would continue to be a…
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Lifeline-supported service, but under a draft order it would have to be bundled with broadband after Dec. 1, 2019, she said Wednesday at New America's Open Technology Institute. "To give Lifeline providers time to adjust, we will phase down support for stand-alone mobile voice over a multi-year period. We plan to eliminate the subsidy for stand-alone mobile voice starting on December 1, 2019, although the Commission will examine the market in mid-2019 to determine whether there needs to be an adjustment," she said in prepared remarks. "We believe that three years will be enough time for the market to adapt and for promising technologies to develop, and that by the end of 2019, there will be affordable bundled mobile voice and data plans that meet, and hopefully exceed, Lifeline’s minimum service standards." But if the FCC is wrong, she said, it "has a safety valve by which it can examine how the market has evolved between now and 2019, and preserve a subsidy for stand-alone mobile voice if it’s deemed necessary." Minimum service standards for voice and data are needed to ensure Lifeline users aren't stuck with "second-class service," while ensuring service is still affordable, she said. Sohn also said state commissions will continue to play a "critical role" in Lifeline, despite an optional new path for broadband providers to be certified to receive support nationally. Providers would still be able to go to the states for Lifeline approval state by state. California approval will be necessary to receive a sizable state Lifeline subsidy there, she said. The FCC proposed a Lifeline budget of $2.25 billion, indexed to inflation, which is enough to allow some growth. While the agency expects some growth due to the broadband coverage, "we don't expect it to be precipitous," she said. Sohn said if Lifeline spending reaches 90 percent of the budget, the Wireline Bureau must notify the commission and prepare an analysis of the causes of the spending growth, "followed by Commission action within six months." That creates another "safety valve," Sohn said. Monday, other senior FCC officials used the agency's blog to defend the proposal amid criticism from some carriers and others (see 1603220044).