Smith Bagley Raises Concerns on Lifeline Verification Proposal
Rural wireless carrier Smith Bagley raised concerns about a draft National Verifier Plan for the FCC Lifeline low-income telecom subsidy program released in early December (see 1612010043), said a filing Tuesday. The draft plan, by the Universal Service Administrative Co.,…
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“appears to require the applicant to interface directly with the National Verifier and the Lifeline Eligibility Database (LED) and then present the service provider with the unique application number assigned by the LED,” Smith Bagley told the FCC. That could be an issue in very remote areas, such as the Navajo Nation, Smith Bagley said. “Due to the lack of broadband access at those events [where the carrier seeks clients], sales agents relay the applicant’s information via telephone to employees who are able to perform the ... verification functions to enable the application process to proceed,” the carrier said. The carrier, doing business as Cellular One of North East Arizona, provides mobile communication services to customers in Northern Arizona and New Mexico. Smith Bagley reported on the meeting with the Wireline Bureau in docket 11-42.