FCC Issues Limited Lifeline Waiver

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau), on its own motion, grants a limited, one-time waiver to a limited number of Lifeline subscribers who received incorrect information about the deadline for recertifying their eligibility for the Lifeline program. Specifically, in letters from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), these subscribers were informed that they had approximately 80 days in which to recertify their eligibility for the Lifeline program, rather than the 60-days provided for under the Lifeline program rules. To prevent the impacted Lifeline subscribers from experiencing the hardship of de-enrollment as a result of their reliance on the incorrect deadline set forth in the USAC letters, we waive, to the extent necessary, the 60-day recertification deadline and allow the impacted Lifeline subscribers to recertify by the deadline provided in their respective USAC recertification letters.