Texas Lawmakers Want to Let AT&T Exit State Lifeline
AT&T could stop providing wired Lifeline service in Texas under a bill sent Monday to Gov. Greg Abbott (R). The House passed the bill 145-0 last week after the Senate passed it 31-0 last month. Effective Sept. 1, SB-1003 would…
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remove a state mandate that deregulated ILECs must participate in the Texas low-income program. AT&T recently exited state Lifeline programs in seven other jurisdictions (see 1705020049). It's fighting consumer groups over another deregulation bill in Illinois, one of two states left that regulate the carrier’s wireline business (see 1704190041). AT&T lost more than 90 percent of Texas Lifeline subscribers to competitors over the past decade, said AT&T Texas Assistant Vice President-Public Affairs Adrianna Bernal Tuesday in a statement. "In every Texas location where AT&T operates today, there are well more than 15 other providers who offer the state/federal Lifeline discounts." Many Lifeline customers are cutting the cord, she said. "Consumers have choices available today that were not imagined decades ago.”