TracFone concerns still run high for consumer groups

Consumer groups are still very much concerned about what happens if TracFone gets acquired by Verizon even though Verizon promises to serve the public interest. Recently, several groups—including the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, Public Knowledge, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Access Humboldt, and the California Center for Rural Policy—announced they were withdrawing their objections because Verizon agreed to a set of commitments: Verizon will continue offering TracFone’s current Lifeline-supported services for at least three years after the close of the transaction. Verizon also said it will honor the rates and terms of the agreements that it’s assuming from TracFone for at least two years, and it will offer 5G plans to TracFone prepaid customers. But in meetings with Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office, Common Cause and New America's Open Technology Institute repeated their concerns about the transaction’s potential to undermine the Lifeline program and raise prices for low-income consumers. OTI and Common Cause emphasized that Verizon has a burden to demonstrate that the merger will benefit the public interest — not merely that it would avoid harm. “At a minimum, the proposed conditions should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling, for any potential remedy the [FCC] might be considering,” they wrote. The consumer groups said any conditions must be strictly enforced, and behavioral conditions are “notoriously difficult” to monitor.