Lifeline Outreach Key to Reducing Consumer Confusion, Says NRRI Panel
States, the FCC and industry plan extensive outreach​ to reduce consumer confusion about changes to Lifeline that will allow the USF program for low-income people to get broadband and not just phone service, officials said on a Wednesday webinar staged…
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by the National Regulatory Research Institute, the research arm of NARUC. "We think it's very important that we help in getting the word out … because there will be a lot of confusion," said Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable Commissioner Karen Charles Peterson. Lifeline tops the department’s list for planned outreach efforts, and the state government hopes the low-income program will play a big role in a state effort to increase broadband adoption, she said. The FCC plans to make copious amounts of information available through its website and other outreach venues, said Wireline Bureau Telecommunications Access Policy Division Chief Ryan Palmer. TracFone plans targeted communications to customers rather than a broad and generalized approach, said the company’s Corporate Counsel Stephen Athanson. AT&T sees potential for customer confusion because it will take some time for states to sync their programs with the federal program, said Executive Director-Public Policy Beth Fujimoto. She said the company supports a USTelecom reconsideration request pending at the FCC, including deferring the effective date of the streamlined eligibility criteria to give states more time to make necessary changes (see 1608090023). States won’t find a uniform method to implement the order, said Peterson. "Each state is unique and they're going to have to address it in their own way." The commissioner said one concern of states is what happens to consumers’ ability to call 911 if they're moved from voice to broadband plans. She said the issue is “hard to explain to the average citizen.” Massachusetts plans to work with consumers, industry and the FCC “to make sure a consumer doesn’t have to pick” between voice and broadband, she said.