Updated Lifeline Minimum Service Standards and Indexed Budget Amount

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced updated minimum service standards for Lifeline-supported services as required by the 2016 Lifeline Order. The 2016 Lifeline Order established minimum service standards for certain Lifeline-supported services and established annual increases in those standards either in the FCC’s rules or pursuant to calculations set out in the Order and the FCC’s rules.  Accordingly, the Bureau announced the newly calculated minimum service standard for fixed broadband data usage allowance, which is the same as the current standard. This standard will continue until December 1, 2025. Additionally, the Bureau announced that the budget for federal universal service support for the Lifeline program for calendar year 2025 will be $2,892,617,627. 

• Mobile broadband minimum service standard. On July 3, 2024, the Bureau extended for an additional year the waiver pausing the increase in the Lifeline minimum service standards for mobile broadband data capacity. As such, the standard will continue to be 4.5 GB per month until at least December 1, 2025.
• Fixed broadband minimum service standard for data usage allowance.  Pursuant to the 2016 Lifeline Order, beginning December 1, 2024, the Lifeline minimum service standard for fixed broadband data usage will be 1230 GB per month, as calculated from the 2024 Urban Rate Survey data.
• Mobile voice telephony minimum service standard. The 2016 Lifeline Order established an automatic update to the Lifeline minimum service standard for mobile voice service through November 30, 2018.6  Accordingly, pursuant to the 2016 Lifeline Order, on December 1, 2024, the Lifeline minimum service standard for mobile voice service will remain unchanged, at 1000 minutes per month.