Today: FCC Lifeline Verifier Launch Date Delay, FCC Comment on Spectrum Policy Recommendations  

FCC Lifeline Verifier Launch Date Delay

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced that the launch of the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier), originally scheduled for six initial states in December 2017, will be postponed until early 2018.  The delay is intended to allow USAC time to fix certain security vulnerabilities in the system that were identified during Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) testing.   In connection with the delay, Chairman Pai issued a statement saying, in part: “The Lifeline program is an important tool for closing the digital divide but for too long, it’s plagued by waste, fraud, and abuse.  To tackle one aspect of that problem, the FCC has tasked USAC with developing a National Verifier to determine whether an individual is in fact eligible for Lifeline benefits…Unfortunately, I learned yesterday that the National Verifier will not be able to pass key security checks this year that USAC is responsible for completing.  As a result, USAC cannot launch the National Verifier before the end of the year.  Having a functioning National Verifier is critical to the success of the Lifeline program, but we cannot ignore our duty to safeguard consumers’ personal information.  We must get this right.  I have asked Commission staff to work with USAC to address these security concerns fully and expeditiously. Given the nature of the task, I now expect the National Verifier to launch in early 2018.”

FCC Seeking Comment on Spectrum Policy Recommendations

The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology is asking for comment on the spectrum policy recommendations of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council (TAC).  The recommendations are intended to address the increasing challenges of efficient and fair allocation of spectrum in congested Radio Frequency (RF) environments, and in particular, the challenges of finding a balance between the rights and responsibilities of transmitters and receivers.  Specifically, TAC has recommended that the FCC adopt a policy statement, setting forth spectrum management guidance and principles based on TAC recommendations made to the FCC, including the following:

• Implement and formalize the TAC’s recommendations for Basic Spectrum Principles as policies, and set clear expectations about the affected system’s capabilities regarding  interference, such as harm claim thresholds.
• Adopt risk-informed interference assessment and statistical service rules more widely.
• Implement steps for improving interference resolution, including a next-generation architecture for radio spectrum interference resolution, creating a public database of past radio-related enforcement activities, and incorporate interference hunters in the resolution process.  Comments are due January 31, 2018; reply comments are due February 15, 2018. 

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.