Comments Due May 31 on Blue Casa Lifeline Audit Waiver

The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by May 31, replies by June 7, on Blue Casa Telephone's request for a waiver of a biennial audit as a Lifeline eligible telecom carrier, said a public notice Monday in docket 11-42. Blue Casa said in its petition that it was selected to undergo an audit for the 2019 calendar year but is "subject to stringent regulation and supervision" by the California Public Utilities Commission and its designated third-party administrator regarding "eligibility determinations and claim submission." The carrier has "neither the means nor the opportunity to engage in activities that could result in waste or fraud," it said, and the "external cost of undergoing an audit ... would significantly exceed Blue Casa's monthly Lifeline reimbursement from the federal program."