FCC faces pressure on Lifeline

An unlikely union of industry lobbyists and consumer groups is warning the Federal Communications Commission against changes to a phone subsidy program. Critics say that if the overhaul goes through as planned, many poor Americans who receive free phone service through the program will drop out. Even the White House is expressing concern. The late lobbying scrabble has caught the agency's attention ahead of a vote scheduled for March 31. In recent days, the FCC has given strong hints it is open to changes, and officials have asked for recommendations in private meetings. There could be a “drastic reduction in Lifeline participation because many eligible subscribers simply won't have the ability or means to make monthly payments,” former Democratic Rep Henry Waxman, now a lobbyist, told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Calls to change that plan are coming from a number of diverse groups that are often at odds over other FCC actions. They include the wireless industry, groups representing senior citizens, advocates for people with disabilities and public interest groups like FreePress. “Free Press is not in the habit of accepting without healthy skepticism any telecommunications carriers’ cost and pricing claims. Nevertheless, the record evidence in the docket is mounting,” the group’s policy director Matt Wood wrote after a call with agency officials.