Lifeline/Low-Income Consumers

Smith Bagley, commercial mobile wireless operator, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a six-month extension of the Lifeline rule waivers (currently scheduled to expire June 30, 2021) through December 31, 2021. Smith Bagley provides Lifeline service in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah to over 60,000 people, more than 50,000 of whom live in low-income households on the Navajo, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Zuni, and Ramah Navajo Tribal lands. Smith Bagley argues that: 1) The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Will Continue for Many More Months and 2) COVID-19 Has Continued to Severe

The National Lifeline Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to expeditiously release a Public Notice seeking comment on the association's Petition for Rulemaking so that others can comment on it and the FCC can build a record to take the necessary actions to transition the Lifeline program into a program that is post-Emergency Broadband Benefit Program ready. The FCC should not work in a linear fashion, but rather consider important improvements to the Lifeline program now so that those improvements can be in place when the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program funding runs

Sen Brian Schatz (D-HI) led a group of 20 senators in calling on the leaders of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to share data to identify communities without high-speed internet access and work together to improve broadband connectivity. In a letter to the agency leaders, the senators also called on them to collaborate and find ways to ensure families in need also have information on accessing Lifeline, an existing federal phone and internet service program. “We urge HUD and USDA t

The Federal Communications Commission announces those Census blocks where Lifeline support for voice-only service will continue at $5.25 per month from Dec 1, 2021 through Nov 30, 2022. These Census blocks can be found on the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) website.

Veterans of the nation’s decade-long efforts to extend the nation’s broadband footprint worry that President Joe Biden's new plan carries the same bias of its predecessors: Billions will be spent to extend the internet infrastructure to the farthest reaches of rural America, where few people live, and little will be devoted to connecting millions of urban families who live in areas with high-speed service that they cannot afford. About 81 percent of rural households are plugged into broadband, compared with about 86 percent in urban areas, according to Census Bureau data.

Rep G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-01) introduced the Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act (HR 3376) to increase access to and speed the deployment of broadband to households and small businesses currently without this vital service. The bill will enable more broadband service providers to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF) programs by eliminating an outdated requirement that only internet service providers designated as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) may receive USF dollars.

More than 825 broadband providers are taking part in the Federal Communications Commission’s new Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. One of the participants is TruConnect, a mobile virtual network operator that uses T-Mobile’s network. “Lifeline has been a terrific solution,” for getting communications into the hands of those who need it but can’t afford it, said Matthew Johnson, co-CEO of TruConnect, who runs the company with his brother Nathan Johnson. But it was frustrating during Covid-19.

In the coming days, we will see major progress on a $10+ billion federal investment in digital inclusion. This moment is unprecedented. We've never seen such a large commitment to making broadband service affordable for all. And, as Congress starts to focus on long-term solutions for universal broadband, we're seeing the potential for more digital inclusion investment in the coming months.

Congress created a $3 billion fund to provide low-income Americans with $50 per month for broadband service. The subsidies start May 12 and the program is, for now, temporary.

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on the disparities that exist in accessing affordable, reliable high-speed internet in the US. The panel heard from the National Urban League's Joi Chaney, Public Knowledge President Chris Lewis, Francella Ochillo of Next Century Cities, and George Ford, the chief economist at the Phoenix Center.