FCC May Act Soon on Lifeline Voice Petition

The FCC is likely to act soon on the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration of the scheduled Dec. 1 phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support, experts said in recent interviews. The service's backers anticipate the agency will at least pause, if not reverse, its 2016 decision (see 1603310056).

"It’s consistent with what I’ve heard that it likely would be something that happens” soon, said Benton Institute Broadband & Society Senior Fellow John Horrigan. The anticipated infrastructure package would also require the FCC to “do a full review on Lifeline,” Horrigan said. “I could see them maybe not declaring permanently that the voice phaseout is ended and rather just deciding to include that in the study.”

"We certainly hope the FCC issues an order to stop the phase down of voice-only Lifeline support,” emailed NASUCA Executive Director David Springe. Phasing out voice-only support would “have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable Americans,” Springe said: “Customers in areas with a Lifeline and broadband voice option would be forced to pay for the higher cost service and may not be able to afford it." The FCC didn’t comment Wednesday.

There's “quite a significant record” from a variety of stakeholders backing voice-only support, said NTCA Senior Vice President-Industry Affairs Mike Romano: “People wanted to update mechanisms for broadband, but that doesn't mean you have to abandon voice.” An annual increase of the Lifeline minimum service standards for mobile broadband to 18 GB is also scheduled for Dec. 1. The FCC set the MSS to 4.5 GB last year before it was scheduled to increase to 11.75 GB (see 2011160056).

“The impact of this decline in support is potentially severe,” emailed NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsay. NARUC members approved a resolution in 2019 backing the full $9.25 monthly per customer Lifeline support for voice services (see 1907240043). “The reduction simply directly increases the costs of service making it more difficult to afford,” Ramsay said: “NARUC believes the FCC should act ... and adjust these reductions as soon as possible."

If the phasedown continues as planned, Next Century Cities Executive Director Francella Ochillo said NCC outreach “would be limited to providing notice and fielding questions for local officials that promote and/or support Lifeline enrollment.” Some providers are subject to deadlines and had to provide consumer notices or file tariff amendments to reflect the Dec. 1 phasedown, Romano said. “Some have tried to hold off as best as they can to not do that,” he said, but messaging needs to be done to clear up potential confusion about why the benefit could end.

Part of the confusion stems from what areas the phasedown wouldn't affect, as voice-only support would remain available in census blocks where only one Lifeline provider is available (see 2109160028). Voice service data is collected on a census tract basis, so every census block in one tract could be considered “served” due to a “lack of granular and accurate information,” Romano told staff to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per a filing posted Wednesday in docket 11-42.

The “best-case scenario” is for providers to inform their customers that the phaseout is likely to be paused, said New America's Open Technology Institute Policy Analyst Claire Park. The estimated 800,000 consumers at risk of being affected include many who are older and not familiar with broadband or are low-income consumers, Park said, adding the funding needed to support voice-only services is also “much smaller” than what's needed for broadband. The FCC has been “reassuring” that it’s aware of the concerns and understands “the risk of inaction,” said Brandon Forester, MediaJustice national organizer-internet rights and platform accountability. It’s “appropriate to have a pause,” Forester said, because the service is “a literal lifeline.”