FCC Seeks Comment on NTCA Petition for Temporary Waiver from Lifeline Minimum Service Standards

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on the Petition for Temporary Waiver filed by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA). NTCA, on behalf of its members and similarly situated operators, requests a temporary waiver from the Bureau’s updated Lifeline minimum service standards, “applicable to fixed, wireline broadband Internet access service . . . eligible for support by the Lifeline Universal Service Fund . . . program,” which are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2018. The minimum service standards for fixed broadband speeds are scheduled to increase to 18 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream, from 15 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively.

Comment Date: August 30, 2018; Reply Comment Date: September 14, 2018 [WC Docket Nos. 11-42, 09-197, 10-90]