FCC Grants Extensions for Lifeline Eligibility Certification Rules
The FCC Wireline Bureau Thursday granted four petitions seeking temporary waivers of a June 1 deadline to implement new Lifeline eligibility rules (http://xrl.us/bm9yxb). The bureau gave USTelecom a six-month extension for 13 of the states indicated in its petition, as well as the eligible telecom carriers in those states that rely on the state to sign someone up for Lifeline. It also granted extensions for California to transition to a new third-party vendor and enable collection of partial Social Security information and dates of birth; and to Oregon and Colorado, which need to change their state laws to reflect new federal rules.
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The FCC’s Lifeline order adopted in early February required that ETCs seeking reimbursement for Lifeline subscribers get a copy of the subscriber’s certification form from states that sign up the Lifeline customers. The various waivers requested extensions of the deadline, explaining that administrative hassles and the fact that some state legislatures meet only infrequently would make it impossible to meet the deadline.
Some states have been making preparations in case the commission didn’t rule in their favor. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio voted last month to suspend its automatic enrollment requirement, which required every ILEC offering Lifeline service to automatically enroll customers participating in qualifying state programs. “The Commission must suspend our automatic enrollment requirement,” the PUC wrote (http://xrl.us/bm9yt6). “To do otherwise would not only foster an environment in which Lifeline customers may obtain multiple Lifeline benefits promoting ongoing waste of the USF, but would also contravene the FCC’s Lifeline Reform Order.” In its original petition, USTelecom had indicated that ETCs in Ohio would need a waiver, but the association struck it from the list last week based on the state’s PUC’s order.
The Nevada PUC has an “ongoing investigation” and rulemaking regarding how to address the requirements in the Lifeline order, and scheduled a workshop for Monday to further address the issues, a spokesman told us. Nevada was one of the states included in USTelecom’s request for waiver.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission doesn’t have primary jurisdiction over eligibility and certification regarding the actual database and procedures, Commissioner Phil Jones told us. The state commission’s primary authority is to certify ETCs, both for the high-cost fund and for Lifeline/Link Up, he said. The other state agency involved in the initial eligibility and certification program for traditional state Lifeline is in the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), for the Washington Telephone Assistance Program, he said. The DSHS has indicated that it won’t be able to implement the operational changes in time to allow existing ETCs in the state to comply with the June 1 notice and certification form requirements. Because ETCs are required to have an eligibility verification notice and a copy of subscriber certification form from DSHS as a prerequisite to enrolling new customers in the Lifeline program, ETCs in Washington state may have to decline to enroll new subscribers, a recent filing by the WUTC said (http://xrl.us/bm9ynf).
Some logistical issues can’t be overcome in a short time, according to Cary Hinton, a policy adviser at the D.C. Public Service Commission. Ever since the FCC released the Lifeline order, the D.C. commission has directed two working groups focusing on implementation -- the Universal Trust Fund Working Group and the Utility Discount Program Education Working Group, according to Lara Walt, a D.C. PSC attorney adviser. The process is taking a lot of time because of the changes related to application and certification process, she said. D.C. received a six-month waiver in Thursday’s order.
The Oregon PUC recently told the FCC that it will be ready to implement the required changes to the Lifeline certification form by the June 1 deadline, said Jon Cray, program manager of the state commission’s Residential Service Protection Fund. The PUC indicated that it didn’t see the need for states to provide each ETC with the customer certification form, he said. State notification to an ETC indicating specific customer eligibility should be sufficient, he said. The state commission has informed the FCC that it retains the certification forms and will provide them to ETCs or the Universal Service Administrative Co. upon request, Cray said. Florida will be in compliance with the new FCC rules effective June 1, a spokeswoman for the state’s Public Service Commission said. Oregon and Florida received an extension in Thursday’s order.