FreedomPop Lifeline Database Makes Lemonade Out of Lemons

Just a few months after having its credentials for participation in the Federal Communications Commission’s low-income Lifeline program revoked, FreedomPop has found a new Lifeline-related revenue stream: The company is licensing a database system originally developed for its own use to service providers approved to offer Lifeline service. FreedomPop CEO Steve Stokols said the FreedomPop Lifeline database took about a year to develop and offers fraud prevention capabilities, as well as providing leads for service providers pursuing Lifeline business.

According to Stokols, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler encouraged FreedomPop to participate in the Lifeline program, which is what drove the company to develop a system that essentially provides the functionality that the FCC verification database was intended to provide. Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has different views on Lifeline than his predecessor, however. Chairman Pai didn’t support 2016’s Lifeline reforms, and one of his first moves as chairman was to reject nine Lifeline service provider approvals made at the federal level under Wheeler’s chairmanship – including FreedomPop’s. Subsequently, Chairman Pai shifted responsibility for Lifeline service provider approvals back to the states. As a result, according to Stokols, “the approval process is basically shut down.” Stokols estimated that it would take five years and a lot of legal fees to get Lifeline approvals on a state-by-state basis.