TracFone Raises Lifeline Concerns at FCC
Representatives of TracFone met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff to explain the company’s push to get the FCC to stay or voluntarily defer the Dec. 1 effective date of a rule reducing from 60 to 30 days the period for…
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de-enrolling Lifeline customers who don't use the service. The change would mean higher costs for Lifeline providers and Universal Service Administrative Co., “and, most importantly, would disrupt service to many low-income Lifeline-eligible households who are enrolled in the Lifeline program and who intend to remain,” TracFone said in a filing in docket 11-42. “The most common reasons for non-usage include temporary absence from the country, illness or incapacity and misplaced or broken handsets,” the carrier said. TracFone said about 25 percent of those de-enrolled after 60 days of non-usage re-enroll the following month and that number is likely to “increase dramatically” if the non-usage period is reduced to 30 days.