The Kan. Corporation Commission said new FCC requirements for Lifeline enrollment may make it a bit harder for low-income Kansans to qualify for the phone bill subsidy, but it had no real choice other than to conform to the FCC rules. The KCC voted to eliminate the self-certification process by which Lifeline subscribers simply attested to their eligibility. Instead, the agency adopted FCC rules requiring applicants to show proof they make less than 150% of the federal poverty line. The FCC Lifeline order requires states to conform by June 22. The KCC said it has been trying to expand Lifeline enrollment beyond the 26,500 current enrollment but said the new rules might discourage eligible people from applying.
The Alaska Regulatory Commission (ARC) amended Lifeline and Link Up eligibility criteria to include an income-based standard, consistent with FCC Lifeline policies. Under the new rule (Case R-03-6), people with household income below 135% of the federal poverty line can receive Lifeline and Link Up subsidies. Previous eligibility criteria, based on enrollment in public assistance programs, will also continue to be used. The income rule also includes certification procedures for verifying income eligibility.
The Ohio PUC allowed Cincinnati Bell to come under the generic price cap regulation system applied to the state’s largest incumbent telcos. That program puts basic local services under non-indexed price caps and deregulates retail rates for all other services. The PUC dismissed pleas from the Ohio Office of Consumer Counsel for full evidentiary hearings and a formal finding that the change was in the public interest. The PUC deferred action on Cincinnati Bell’s request for waiver of the Lifeline program specified by the generic regulation plan. The PUC said it wanted time to consider the effects recent FCC Lifeline policy decisions would have on the generic system’s Lifeline program. The telco had wanted to continue the 2 Lifeline options it offered under its former company-specific cap program.