CPUC LifeLine Draft Undermines US Affordability Efforts, Says Verizon

The California Public Utilities Commission should withdraw or substantially change a draft decision on low-income subsidies that would undermine an “all of government” effort to make connectivity affordable, Verizon said Friday in docket R.20-02-008. The CPUC plans to vote Thursday on the proposal to reduce California LifeLine subsidies when total federal monthly support applied to a LifeLine plan is more than $9.25. The commission originally planned to vote Aug. 25, but Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma held the item for further review (see 2208230008). The proposal “risks serious harm” to those “who can least afford it,” said Verizon, saying it raised “serious concerns” in ex parte letters sent Aug. 22 to all five CPUC members. Data analysis by Verizon’s Tracfone found that many legacy emergency broadband benefit (EBB) customers “use well in excess of the LifeLine program supported standard 6 GB plan,” Verizon said. “These data directly contradict the main reason that the Proposed Decision cites for denying consumers the ability to combine all available subsidies … for the purpose of receiving unlimited wireless connectivity.” The draft “relies on a flawed analysis by CPUC Staff asserting that LifeLine customers don’t need unlimited wireless connectivity because they only used an average of less than 2 GB of data per month in a three-month period before the EBB was even available.”