Sprint, FCC Say They're Not Ignoring Lifeline Errors; Starks Concerned
Sprint and the FCC said they're on top of problems on Lifeline counts. The company overestimated Lifeline wireless customers it serves for longer than first thought, reported (login required) The Wall Street Journal Tuesday. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks tweeted the “allegations…
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are serious and @FCC must hold @Sprint fully accountable.” The carrier takes Lifeline obligations seriously, and made an error "years ago in Sprint’s technical compliance with the FCC’s complex Lifeline rules,” a Sprint spokesperson emailed. “While the facts make clear that Sprint did make a mistake, it is also clear that Sprint corrected that mistake and cooperated with regulators. This error from 2013-2014 is distinct from the error that Sprint disclosed this August.” Chairman Ajit Pai “in September asked the Enforcement Bureau to investigate the full extent of Sprint’s non-usage problem,” an FCC spokesperson emailed now. “That investigation is underway.” An Oregon Public Utility Commission probe kick-started the FCC investigation (see 1909240023).