Lifeline MSS Order Pulled From Circulation
The draft order circulated by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on increasing the Lifeline minimum service standard to 4.5 GB a month has been removed from circulation, said a spokesperson Monday and per the Friday-updated list of circulates. The order was stalled with only two votes to approve (see 2010220056). An industry official said now that the order was withdrawn because Commissioner Mike O’Rielly was prepared to vote no. In combination with expected dissents from Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel, that would have meant its defeat.
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“The proposed order was removed from circulation because Commissioners were provided three months to act to reduce the increase in the minimum service standards mandated by the prior Commission and to ensure predictable, reasonable yearly updates to the standards yet did not do so,” emailed an FCC spokesperson. The draft was removed Wednesday, an official noted. “This cruel pandemic has done real harm to our economy, making it hard for so many households to stay connected," said Rosenworcel in a statement Monday: “The FCC should be rethinking the Lifeline program to make sure it meets this moment and truly works for those who need it.” Starks and O’Rielly didn’t comment now.
The MSS is set at 3 GB a month because of a 2019 waiver. Without FCC action, it will increase to 11.75 GB a month Dec. 1. The draft order would have changed that. It and the automatic increase were widely opposed. Lifeline providers, public interest groups and lawmakers from both parties want the FCC to issue a waiver of the Dec.1 increase. “Allowing the MSS to rise to 11.75 GB without taking action will likely collapse the program,” said attorney Judson Hill, who represents Lifeline provider TruConnect.
It's unclear what happens next, conceded FCC officials and outside attorneys. The National Lifeline Association has a pending petition seeking a waiver freezing the MSS at 3 GB, and that could be a vehicle to prevent the Dec. 1 increase, said attorney John Heitmann of Kelley Drye, who represents NaLA. The chairman’s office could also seek to approve a waiver on circulation, though lawyers said that's less likely. Both scenarios would require Pai to act to prevent the Dec. 1 increase. Pai was asked about his openness to options other than the draft order during a news conference last week and didn’t directly answer us. He said that if commissioners want to stop the automatic increase, they should vote to approve his order.
Lifeline providers said they're running out of time before the approaching deadline, and the companies are required to inform customers of pending price increases. "Carriers are once again completely uncertain of what they should tell their subscribers in these notices," wrote Heitmann in a filing in docket 11-42 last week. The FCC "should not wait again until late November to decide the matter, as it did in 2019." Increased data requirements will lead to price increases because the companies can’t afford to provide the higher data at the current level of subsidy, the providers said. Currently, the companies don’t charge customers a copay, and any sort of one will bump many users -- who often don’t use banks or credit cards -- from the program, said Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Jenna Leventoff.
“We’re hopeful the commission will grant relief,” said Heitmann. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Hill. “It is difficult to understand why during a pandemic a Chairman would not agree to leave things as they are when otherwise millions of people will suffer,” emailed United Church of Christ attorney Cheryl Leanza.