USAC to Run 'Mini National Verifier' for Utah Lifeline

workshop Wednesday. “We’ll basically be running a mini national verifier operation.” The PSC’s state contract ends June 30, terminated in the belief the national verifier would be ready by then, and the commission at first planned to require eligible telecom service providers to self-certify (see 1806070022). The PSC has been in contact with USAC and senior FCC staffers, who say "they understand our concerns" and are committed to deploying the national verifier soon, but there’s no firm schedule, Utah PSC technical adviser John Harvey said. There’s no launch date announced for the national verifier, USAC’s Gustafson said. Starting July 1, USAC will accept paper applications for wireline consumers by mail directly from consumers. When the national verifier launches, service providers will also be able to check consumer eligibility, she said. Consumers must send forms to USAC’s Washington, D.C., address, not the Kentucky address listed in the form, and any applications sent to Kentucky will be destroyed, she said. Gustafson suggested providers attach a sticker to the form with the correct address. “We all want to see [the national verifier] move forward” quickly, Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a Thursday interview at the Above Ground Level Summit in Philadelphia (see 1806140057). He said the FCC is still taking feedback on Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to end Lifeline support to non-facilities-based carriers, a plan that state commissioners, FCC Democrats and others have protested (see 1806060031, 1806040030 and 1806010046).