2 Consumer Groups Back, Telrite Disputes TracFone Bid for FCC Lifeline Clarification
Two consumer groups supported and Telrite objected to TracFone's request for FCC clarification of Lifeline minimum service standards (see 1701230039 and 1702160079). Sprint also backed TracFone (see 1703020059). Consumer Action and the National Consumers League joined TracFone in urging the…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
FCC "to stop the abuse of the so-called 'port freeze' rule, which is now being used to limit consumer choice and access to true broadband service and broadband-suitable devices." Lifeline providers shouldn't use the port freeze to "lock up" those low-income consumers who enrolled as voice-only Lifeline customers with standard cell phones unsuitable for broadband internet access service (BIAS), said the groups' filing posted Friday in docket 11-42. Telrite agreed the 12-month port freeze should only apply to subscribers with devices capable of providing 3G or better data speeds, but it said it offered customers various products, including "unlimited Premium Wi-Fi service," that meet the service standards. The FCC should "decline any requests for 'clarification' that would rewrite these rules so as to preclude access to the kinds of innovative and robust service offerings the Commission had hoped to spur through expansion of the port freeze to mobile BIAS offerings," said Telrite's filing: "The 12-month benefit port freeze is working as intended, permitting access to smartphones and innovative service offerings that are affordable for low-income consumers and help to close the digital divide. ... [T]he Commission should reject TracFone's and Sprint's requests for clarification and instead make findings consistent with these comments." An Oklahoma Corporation Commission filing said it couldn't determine whether Telrite's premium Wi-Fi service complied with the standards, but urged the FCC to scrutinize "the technical characteristics and geographic availability of any 'new', 'innovative' or otherwise 'non-standard' BIAS offerings," and said customers should be made aware of service differences before being locked into service.