Understanding the Potential Cost of an Expanded Lifeline Program

As Congress debates increases to the Lifeline benefit, it should also ensure that funds are directly appropriated to support any benefit increase or otherwise ensure that the Universal Service Fund funding mechanism is significantly reformed. Relying on decades-old funding approaches will only serve to undermine the goal of providing 21st-century broadband connectivity to Lifeline eligible households. We have argued that the Lifeline program needs to be reformed from its current provider-centric structure to one that instead puts the beneficiary at the center of a more digital approach, as modeled after the Department of Agriculture’s successful and evolving SNAP program. We must similarly reform the Lifeline funding mechanism. The current USF funding mechanism cannot accommodate the type of increased program expense that a $35/month benefit could drive. The financing becomes even more challenged if the benefit is increased to $50/monthly.