The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) modernized the California Lifeline...
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) modernized the California Lifeline Telephone Program to make communications services in the state more affordable and available, the commission said. The changes include freezing the current Lifeline rate at $6.84 for two years for…
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most customers and expanding the program to include data services for consumers who receive wireless equipment through the CPUC’s Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP), clarifying that wireless, VoIP, and other non-traditional carriers are eligible for reimbursement by Lifeline for providing discounted service to customers and controlling the amount that non-Lifeline customers pay for the program by, among other things, eliminating extra payments to carriers for administration, bad debt, and to make up for forgone federal support. The CPUC will consider changes needed to facilitate participation in Lifeline for non-traditional carriers, including data services for DDTP-eligible consumers, wireless and other non-traditional carriers. The Lifeline rate will remain at its current level until Jan. 1, 2013, when a new “Specific Support Amount” methodology goes into full effect. The new methodology is expected to maintain the Lifeline rate well below the current cap. The Lifeline discount will be set annually at 55 percent of the highest basic rate of the state’s Uniform Regulatory Framework carriers of last resort. The initial Specific Support amount is set at $11.50, effective July 1, 2011. Each carrier’s Lifeline rate will be capped at no more than 50 percent of its basic service rate. Each carrier may reset its Lifeline rate on an annual basis and their rate will be calculated by subtracting the Specific Support Amount and any applicable Federal Lifefine and Link-Up subsidy from its basic rate. CPUC’s decision gives low-income customers certainty that their rates won’t explode in the next two years, and allows the CPUC, DRA (The California Division of Ratepayer Advocates) and other stakeholders time to develop a smart wireless option and to ensure the future of the essential public program, said DRA Acting Director Joe Como.