FCC Eases Rules For Providing Subsidized Tribal Broadband

By Julia Arciga
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Law360 (June 1, 2020, 8:40 PM EDT) -- The Federal Communications Commission in an order Monday made it easier for low-income consumers living on rural tribal lands to obtain discounts on broadband internet and phone services during the coronavirus pandemic.

The commission temporarily eased the Lifeline program application and enrollment process to allow carriers to immediately provide services to certain consumers before they've submitted necessary documentation. The program gives qualifying customers monthly discounts on services, including a discount of up to $34.25 for tribal land residents.

Customers will now have 45 days to submit the documentation after they've applied for the program. The temporary waiver for carriers to provide immediate services expires at the end of August.

"The COVID-19 outbreak has had a severe impact on residents of rural tribal areas," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. "Low-income consumers in these remote areas may find it difficult to submit the required documentation to enroll in the Lifeline program. ... Today's waiver will give consumers easier, quicker access to the affordable broadband service they need for telehealth, online learning, telework, and communicating with loved ones during the pandemic, and it will give Lifeline carriers the flexibility needed to help these consumers safely complete the application process."

According to the order, the waiver — issued by the commission's Wireline Competition Bureau — will allow qualifying customers to get services without "creating incentives for Lifeline providers to enroll ineligible subscribers in the program."

Carriers who choose to provide services to applicants before documentation is submitted can claim Lifeline support after the customer has submitted documentation and received confirmation about their eligibility, the FCC said. Carriers can claim the customer for reimbursement from the Universal Service Fund after documentation has been submitted and eligibility is confirmed.

The order also extended the FCC's prior waivers for the Lifeline program in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, including the program's recertification, reverification, general de-enrollment, usage requirements and income documentation requirements.

Those waivers expire at the end of August, but the commission wrote that it would "continue to monitor the situation" to conclude whether further extensions are appropriate.

This move comes after Law360 reviewed hundreds of complaints and found some internet service providers were not honoring a voluntary, industrywide pledge to suspend service disconnections and to make internet access more attainable during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pai told Congress last month that the commission had received over 2,000 COVID-19-related complaints, and it has heard frustrations over "billing or network issues, or broadband access generally."

--Additional reporting by Kelcee Griffis. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.

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