Lifeline Providers Ask FCC to Press Pause

Two tribes and a group of companies that get telecom subsidies under the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program want the FCC to hold off on its plan to limit the types of companies that get more Lifeline money to support subscribers on tribal lands. In 2017, the FCC approved a plan that would eliminate extra funding on tribal lands for wireless resellers, and limit the areas eligible for a higher subsidy. The enhanced subsidy adds an extra $25 to the monthly $9.25 per-subscriber total that Lifeline companies receive. In a petition filed June 22, companies including Assist Wireless and Boomerang Wireless, along with the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and the Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority, asked the commission to pause implementation while they challenge the cuts in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.