June 2011

The Federal Communications Commission strengthened protections in its Lifeline program to eliminate and prevent waste by ensuring that multiple carriers do not get support for serving the same consumer. The purpose of the Lifeline program is to help low-income Americans access affordable phone service. After determining through enhanced oversight that some subscribers have Lifeline-subsidized phone service from multiple carriers, the FCC today clarified its rules to expressly bar more than one benefit per subscriber, and will notify consumers with multiple subsidies that they are only allowed to have one. The action will save potentially millions of dollars per year, helping ensure that Lifeline can reach as many low-income consumers as possible.

Under the FCC's action:

• The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) must notify consumers receiving multiple Lifeline benefits that they are allowed to have only one Lifeline-subsidized phone service
• Consumers have 30 days to choose which subsidized phone service to keep
• The company or companies not chosen by the consumer must de-enroll the consumer from Lifeline within five days after notification by USAC of the consumer’s choice
• At the end of the process, consumers will have no more than one Lifeline phone service

AT&T's $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA wouldn't adversely impact competition in the wireless market, according to former-Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA).

Critics argue the transaction would leave AT&T and Verizon Wireless in dominant positions with Sprint a distant third. Boucher said that even if the merger is approved by the government there would still be ample competition in the nation's largest metro areas. "Clearly there are two dominant carriers, but after this merger is complete in 18 of the 20 largest cities there will still be five or more wireless providers," Boucher argued. "So there will be ample choice for everyone that decides they want a carrier other than Verizon or AT&T." Boucher joined the AT&T-backed advocacy group the Internet Innovation Alliance last month, adding his respected voice on telecom policy to the small army of lobbyists and advocates pushing the government to approve the merger, arguing it would accelerate the deployment of next generation wireless coverage. "[The merger] is simply a step that will allow the private sector to bring broadband to 97 percent of the population," Boucher said. "One company would meet the Obama administration's goal." The Congressman said in his new role he is pushing for reform of the Universal Service Fund so firms can receive funds for building out broadband networks in rural areas.

Rural telco North-Eastern Pennsylvania Telephone recently found a way of avoiding the expense of upgrading its connection to the Internet. By deploying caching technology from Blue Coat Systems the telco saw its total Internet traffic decline from just over 200 Mb/s to 140 to 160 Mb/s, said Scott Brennan, managing partner of Netegrity Consultants, a managed service provider that worked with NEP on the caching project.

Construction crews began to install a miles-long broadband network across central Maryland last week, though the portion of the network designated for business and residential use has yet to be leased.

The installation is part of a statewide initiative that will see fiber-optic cables laid across every county by 2013 thanks to a $115 million federal stimulus grant and $43 million in state and local money. The infrastructure costs to reach those areas are typically deemed too great by private companies. Half of the network will connect schools, health centers, police stations, libraries and other “community anchors” on high-capacity Internet cables that are better equipped to transmit large gulps of data. The remaining fiber will be inactive until Internet providers, private companies or nongovernmental institutions lease portions of the network and make it available to households and businesses.