FCC Sets New Soft, Hard Launches of Lifeline National Verifier
FCC staff announced new soft and hard launches of the Lifeline national verifier (NV) of consumer low-income eligibility in a dozen states and other U.S. jurisdictions. The Wireline Bureau said a soft launch, allowing Lifeline providers voluntarily to use the…
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NV to test their enrollment systems and processes, begins Wednesday in Alaska, American Samoa, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, the Northern Mariana Islands, Rhode Island and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A hard launch, when all parties must use the NV to determine consumer eligibility, begins March 5 in Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 11-42. Those states had a soft launch Dec. 4 (see 1811280008). Lifeline providers and advocates voiced concerns (see 1901230036) about consumer enrollment difficulties and de-enrollment of existing users under the NV's systems -- which lack an application programming interface for carriers and full access to national low-income program databases -- starting with less-populated states in the first two batches to undergo hard launches. They fear the March 5 hard launch of four more-heavily-populated states could greatly increase the magnitude of the problems. Comments on privacy in NV use of computer matching programs are due March 7 (see 1902050008). An American Enterprise Institute scholar said the FCC's proposed Lifeline reseller ban was likely "dead" after court reversal of limits on enhanced tribal support, including a reseller ban (see 1902050010).