PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2015
33
to broadband:
• While over 95 percent of households
with incomes of $150,000 or more
have access, only 48 percent of those
making less than $25,000 have service
at home.
• Nearly 50 percent of low-income
Americans have had to cancel or
suspend smartphone service due to fi-
nancial hardship. Because low-income
consumers disproportionately use
smart phones for Internet access, this
puts them at a disadvantage at a time
when broadband access is essential for
access to education and information,
for managing and receiving health
care, and for daily tasks like accessing
government services, checking bank
balances, finding bargains on goods
and services, and more.
To bring Lifeline into the 21st Cen-
tury, Wheeler is seeking comment on a
number of proposals that will modernize
the Lifeline program to make it more ef-
ficient, accountable, and effective, while
proposing additional protections against
waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Ensuring minimum service stan-
dards for voice and broadband.
The
notice proposes to establish minimum
service standards for both voice and
broadband to ensure that both Lifeline
subscribers and ratepayers are get-
ting the best possible value from the
service delivered. The notice seeks
comment on what those standards
should be.
• Resetting Lifeline eligibility ad-
ministration.
Lifeline providers are
currently responsible for ensuring the
eligibility of their Lifeline custom-
ers, a situation that invites waste and
burdens providers. Wheeler proposes
to remove providers from this process
and seeks comment on other ways to
verify eligibility, such as establishing a
neutral third-party administrator. The
notice also seeks comment on how to
ensure that the program targets those
most in need of the support.
• Increasing competition.
Competition
among providers on price and service
offerings would benefit Lifeline sub-
scribers and would ensure ratepayer
dollars support an efficient program.
The notice seeks comment on how
to encourage providers to participate
in the program. The item also asks
how to encourage participation by the
states.
Continued on page 34