In April 2016, the FCC made numerous changes to the federal Lifeline program, most of which became effective earlier this month (December 2 to be exact).  The decision to expand the program to include support for broadband internet access service probably garnered the most headlines.  But the FCC also made significant changes to the operation of the program, most notably to the eligibility criteria.  This has had the states rushing to conform their own requirements to the federal requirements lest carriers be forced to implement two different eligibility regimes - one for federal Lifeline assistance and one for state Lifeline assistance.  Fourteen jurisdictions have already revised or waived their rules to accommodate the new federal criteria.  Recently, the FCC granted waivers to eight states allowing them to continue business as usual, but denied petitions filed by several others.  States continue to review their rules, opening new proceedings and seeking additional comment in pre-existing ones.  So, what’s all the commotion about?

What did the FCC do to the eligibility criteria?

The FCC revised the program eligibility criteria to: (1) remove the Low–Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); National School Lunch Program's free lunch program (NSLP); and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) from the list of Lifeline-eligible federal programs; (2) add the Veterans Pension benefit to the list of Lifeline-eligible federal programs; and (3) remove state-specific eligibility criteria for federal Lifeline support. 

As a result, the list of Lifeline-eligible programs changed to include only SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA), or the Veterans Pension benefit. 

What did the states do?

Alaska, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah either waived or revised their rules so that the state eligibility requirements now mirror the federal Lifeline eligibility requirements. 

In addition, several petitions for waiver were filed at the FCC asking for more time to implement these changes.  Petitions were filed by both the industry and individual states.  In the end, the FCC agreed to waive the effective date of the new eligibility requirements in the eight states that have a Lifeline eligibility database (that ETCs are required to use) but were not able to update that database to align it with the amended federal criteria in time.  In each state, the waiver will run from December 2, 2016, until the sooner of the date specified below or when the state aligns its eligibility criteria with the FCC’s Lifeline eligibility rules and updates its eligibility databases accordingly. In all other states, the rules became effective as scheduled on December 2, 2016.

The FCC also: (1) adopted a so-called rolling recertification period so that it is measured from the customer’s service initiation date; (2) implemented a Lifeline benefit port freeze of 12 months for data services and 60 days for voice service’ and (3) revised the usage rules for prepaid Lifeline services offered at no charge. 

Some of the states, such as Kansas and South Carolina, revised their rules to include some or all of these other changes; other states such as Nevada and the District of Columbia have ongoing proceedings to consider rule revisions to reflect these additional changes.  With respect to port freezes, the FCC granted California and Oregon a waiver of the effective date of these new requirements until no later than June 1, 2017.  The waiver was granted because both of those states opted out of the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) and need additional time to update their systems and processes.

Technologies Management, Inc. (TMI) will continue to track these developments for our clients and others in the telecom industry.  Watch for TMI Regulatory Briefings regarding these and other regulatory changes.

I have provided a list of some of our recent Briefings on this topic to help you identify activity that may be important to you.

•  FCC Expands Lifeline Program to Include Broadband - 5/9/15
• FCC Announces Effective Dates For New Lifeline Rules; Issues Guidance On Filing LBP Applications And Meeting Minimum       Service Standards – 10/6/16
•  FCC Grants Lifeline Waiver In Ten States; Designates First Lifeline Broadband Providers 12/5/16
•  Connecticut Revises Lifeline Eligibility Criteria – 12/5/16
•  D. C. Amends Lifeline Rules – 12/2/16
•  Kansas Modifies Lifeline Program; Seeks Further Comment – 10/21/16
•  Kentucky Revises Lifeline Requirements; Requires Filings – 10/29/16
•  Massachusetts Directs Lifeline Providers To Provide Responses - 12/2/16
•  Mississippi Amends Lifeline/Linkup Programs – 11/8/16
•  Missouri Waives State Lifeline Eligibility Rules - 11/29/16
•  Nebraska Revises Lifeline Eligibility Rules; Seeks Additional Comment – 10/19/16
•  Nevada Revises Lifeline Rules – 11/2/16
•  North Carolina Revises Link-Up Rule – 11/17/16
•  Oregon Adopts Temporary State Lifeline Rules - 12/1/16
•  Pennsylvania Modifies Lifeline Eligibility Criteria – 11/27/16
•  South Carolina Revises Lifeline Rules – 11/28/16
•  Utah Waives State Lifeline Eligibility Rules – 11/28/16

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