California Public Utilities Commission staff discussed the commission’s petition to opt out of the FCC Lifeline accountability database, and gave FCC officials details of its state LifeLine database. Several CPUC staff members spoke with the Wireline Bureau’s Jonathan Lechter and explained “how it checks for duplicate claims, performs identification verifications, and exchanges data between the third party administrator and the carriers,” said a Monday ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bodd65). They talked for about an hour, the filing said.
Several state public utility commissions sought waivers of the June 1 effective date of a section of the FCC Lifeline order that establishes uniform eligibility criteria. The Montana Public Service Commission, Public Utilities Commission of Oregon and Colorado PUC requested a temporary waiver of the deadline to implement the uniform eligibility criteria, arguing their state legislatures “need time to enact legislation to harmonize the eligibility criteria for Lifeline and similar state programs,” according to an FCC public notice released late Friday by the Wireline Bureau (http://xrl.us/bm6i4z). The Montana PSC wants the effective date for the implementation of uniform eligibility criteria extended a year, to June 1, 2013, and Oregon and Colorado want the date pushed back to July 1, 2013. The California PUC seeks a permanent waiver from certification form requirements, a 12-month waiver to comply with certain re-certification requirements and a seven-month waiver to comply with data collection requirements and temporary address requirements (http://xrl.us/bm6i5d). Comments are due May 15 in docket 11-42.
Carriers filing replies in the FCC Lifeline proceeding generally supported the creation of a national Lifeline eligibility database, and want to maintain the current monthly reimbursement of $9.25, or increase it to $10. Replies posted Wednesday in docket 11-42 discussed an array of lingering concerns, including reseller eligibility for Lifeline discounts and whether Lifeline should be applied to bundled offerings that include a voice component.
Oppositions to petitions for reconsideration of the FCC Lifeline order are due May 7 in docket 12-23, replies May 15, said an agency public notice (http://xrl.us/bm5ag9).
Paperwork burdens imposed by changes to the FCC Lifeline order will outweigh the benefits claimed by the FCC, Smith Bagley Inc. said in comments to the Office of Management and Budget (http://xrl.us/bmzxfj). SBI, which operates wireless networks covering approximately 70,000 Lifeline customers in tribal lands, takes issue with rules requiring the 90-day re-certification of temporary addresses, the self-funding of biennial audits and inclusion of fine-print regulatory disclosures in all marketing materials. “The FCC has failed to adequately and accurately calculate the expected burdens of these requirements, and has failed to show how these requirements are not redundant or excessive in light of other program protections in place,” SBI said Thursday.
T-Mobile filed an amended application asking to be designated as an eligible telecom carrier under the FCC Lifeline program, serving Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee and Virginia. “The requested ETC designation will promote the public interest by providing eligible low-income consumers a choice of a significant new facilities-based competitor in the marketplace for Lifeline services,” T-Mobile said (http://xrl.us/bmzg8s). “T-Mobile’s entry into the Lifeline market will create competitive pressure on all Lifeline providers, resulting in a higher level of service quality and more competitive pricing and advantageous service options for Lifeline service for eligible consumers in the FCC States.” T-Mobile has been designated as an ETC in 10 other states. “As a major national licensed carrier with a well-established track record of providing quality mobile voice and data services to non-Lifeline customers, T-Mobile has made the requisite showing of financial and technical capability,” the company said.
Timeframes for implementation of the FCC Lifeline order are “unrealistic and could harm the very consumers the program is intended to benefit,” said a petition by USTelecom, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, NTCA, OPASTCO, Western Telecommunications Alliance and Eastern Rural Telecom Association (http://xrl.us/bmxmxs). They asked the commission to postpone until October the effective date for establishment of the interim flat-rate reimbursement amount of $9.25, for elimination of Link Up in non-tribal lands for eligible telecom carriers and for calculation of the Link Up discount for residents of tribal lands. “These tasks cannot realistically be completed within the relatively short time period (less than 60 days) contemplated under the Order,” the petition said. Petitioners sought clarification of several aspects of new certification requirements under Section 54.407(d) of the rules.
States have a role in determining whether households with incomes higher than 135 percent of federal poverty guidelines meet income eligibility, TracFone said in a filing on proposed changes to the FCC Lifeline program. TracFone also encouraged the FCC to allow residents of homeless shelters to be eligible for support. The company has been designated as an eligible telecom carrier in 31 states, it noted. TracFone also said wireless carriers must remain eligible. “Rules which differ among ETCs and among their Lifeline customers based on technology (e.g. wireline vs. wireless) or based on service offerings … have no place in a nationally uniform Lifeline program funded by the federal Universal Service Fund."
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 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.
Eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) offering free wireless service to Hurricane Katrina survivors could get an estimated $39 million reimbursement under new FCC Lifeline rules, the agency said in an order. The rules, in effect until March 1, will cover only households eligible for individual housing assistance under FEMA rules, it said. Eligible customers will receive a free handset and a package of at least 300 min. of use, up to $130 in value per household, until March 2006.