FCC Must Do More to Clamp Down on Lifeline Abuse, Commissioners Agree
FCC commissioners agreed Tuesday the agency needs to continue pressure to eliminate abuse in the federal Lifeline program, in a panel discussion at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Access to Capital conference Tuesday. The next step could be expanding the program to also cover broadband, commissioners said.
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"I don’t think we've gotten to the place where we've rooted out all the waste, fraud and abuse,” said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. Many are still “gaming the system,” he said. “There’s work to be done in that area."
Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC needs to do more to tackle abuses in the program. “The problem is that good people suffer when bad people profit,” he said. All the “bad apples” must be “kicked out of the basket,” he said.
The program “really is a lifeline” for many low-income individuals, said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC has to make sure “bad actors” no longer participate in Lifeline, she said. “We have to get our house in order.” The FCC has leveled some $100 million in fines against companies that violated commission rules for the program in just the past year, she said. “That sends a strong signal,” she said. “We should continue to send that signal. We should continue to weed out problems when we find them."
The next step should be Lifeline “modernization,” Rosenworcel said. That doesn’t necessarily mean expanding the program but means giving recipients more choice on how they will use funding, she said. “It’s clear that broadband is an essential part of modern communications,” she said. “It’s here to stay."
"There will always be issues of waste fraud and abuse” but the Lifeline program makes a huge difference for the poorest Americans, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The program means people can call 911, stay in touch with their children’s school or call a medical provider, she said. Millions remain unconnected and the program “has really just scratched the surface of what the needs are in our communities and what its potential is,” she said. Due to FCC pressure, Lifeline has already seen more than $2 billion in savings, Clyburn said. “That’s a headline that does not get focused on enough."
One of the big topics at the conference has been revised designated entity (DE) rules, prior to the TV incentive auction (CD July 29 p1). The law requires that the FCC makes an effort to ensure that small businesses and entrepreneurs participate in the auction, Rosenworcel said. The record shows that in early auctions DEs were successful bidders, but that’s not been the case in more recent auctions, she said. “With some big auctions upcoming, I think it’s time to revisit our DE rules."
"We constantly review our rules and ensure that we have not erected barriers to entry,” Clyburn said. The FCC is fully committed to reexamining DE bidding rules, she said. The agency will do “what it takes” to promote “meaningful participation” by DEs in upcoming auctions, she said.
"We need as many people as possible submitting bids,” Pai said. “The question is how do we get there.” O'Rielly said he remains “very hopeful and optimistic” about the incentive auction. (See separate report in this issue above.) The FCC needs to balance any revised DE rules with the commission’s responsibilities to raise money to pay for FirstNet, next-generation 911 and deficit reduction, said O'Rielly.
MMTC Chief Research and Policy Officer Nicol Turner-Lee told commissioners the group hopes the FCC will release a promised NPRM on DE issues as quickly as possible “so we can actually gather a real record on why this program is so important."
MMTC has gone on record opposing the reclassification of broadband as a Title II service, President David Honig noted Tuesday. It would be a “mistake” to place broadband under public utility regulation, he said. “To say, ‘Let’s take one-sixth of the economy and put it in a whole new regulatory structure that’s never been tested for this technology,’ that’s risky and irresponsible."
The four commissioners said they are making their way through the more than 1 million comments filed on net neutrality. “I've actually read a few of the comments,” Pai said. “I'm learning some curse words I never knew before.” Connectivity, not net neutrality, is the big issue, he said.
The 2010 net neutrality rules were “pretty good,” but were largely struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Rosenworcel said. “We're trying to find a new legal home for those ideas.”