FCC Releases List of Counties Where Lifeline Forbearance Applies
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Monday released a list of U.S. counties where conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies. Under the commission’s 2016 Lifeline order (see 1807230027), the "forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support" and not to Lifeline-only ETCs, the bureau said. The 2016 order established the forbearance "in targeted areas where certain competitive conditions are met,” and the FCC “directed the Bureau to release a yearly public notice announcing the counties in which the competitive conditions are met.”
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According to the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, under the 2016 order, forbearance is available only in counties where at least 51% of Lifeline subscribers are obtaining broadband internet access service; there are at least three other providers of Lifeline broadband service that each serve at least 5% of the Lifeline subscribers; and the ETC doesn’t actually receive federal high-cost support.