FCC Extends Pine Ridge Lifeline Deadlines; Pai Tribal Support Claim Disputed; NYC Has Concerns
The FCC extended Lifeline recertification deadlines for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe asked for an extension to "develop and implement an accurate and reliable recertification procedure" appropriate for Pine Ridge. It said annual recertifications…
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of low-income eligibility are complicated by harsh weather, language barriers and distances subscribers must travel. "The unique, simultaneous combination of these circumstances resulted in a sudden and dramatic decrease in successful recertifications" at Pine Ridge starting in September, said a Wireline Bureau order in docket 11-42 in Wednesday's Daily Digest. It granted a temporary waiver giving Lifeline subscribers on the reservation 210 days (instead of 60) to respond to recertification efforts if their eligibility can't be verified through a database. Separately, Joe RedCloud, a former Oglala tribal utilities commission chairman, disputed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's contention in a Feb. 7 letter to Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, that many tribal groups support the commission's recent tribal Lifeline (TLL) changes (see 1802210015). "Tribes in general do NOT support the exclusion of wireless resellers from the TLL program and the Tribes referenced" by Pai and an FCC order "are not representative of Tribal interests," said a letter RedCloud emailed Tuesday to an O'Halleran aide. RedCloud said the tribes Pai cited are a small number of 562 federally recognized U.S. tribes, and he raised questions about the cited tribes' support. "In fact, many Tribes have complained about the lack of Tribal consultation." The FCC didn't comment. New York City officials urged the FCC "to reverse course on recent proposed actions to weaken the essential Lifeline low-income consumers' discount program." The FCC proposals, including to cap the program budget and restrict support to individuals, "will cause irreparable harm to the very consumers this program is intended to protect," said a letter from over two dozen city council members Tuesday.