ITA's FCC Reform Alert - Lifeline

Lifeline Effective Date Still Unknown

Many members are preparing to send their April customer billings out, and are seeking advice on whether the new $9.25 Lifeline credit should be applied starting April 2nd.  Because many of you are sending your information to billing companies, an answer is needed immediately.  

This is a question asked by all LECs nationwide, both large and small.  Due to the FCC’s inaction and inability to understand the impact of its decisions on the "real world” we still have no update on whether or not the increased Lifeline credit will go into effect on April 2nd.   As of right now, the USAC website still says that it will go into effect April 2nd.  

All of the local exchange associations have asked the FCC to delay the April 2nd date because of problems implementing the credit that soon, changing tariffs and billing procedures, and training staff.   As of yesterday, AT&T, Verizon, USTelecom, ITTA, NTECA, OPASTCO and a number of PUCs support the delay.  

There is no way to predict if or when the FCC will decide whether to grant this delay.  Additionally, we have no idea what the impact would be if (1) a LEC decides to not increase the credit in April, yet the FCC decides to not delay the effective date; or (2) a LEC decides to increase the credit on April billings, but then the FCC issues a delay after LECs send out their billings.      

ITA, along with Burnie Snoddy and Ryan Boone met with IUB staff yesterday morning regarding a number of issues pertaining to the FCC’s Order on Lifeline.  We discussed (but had no conclusive decision) on the effective date of the new $9.25 Lifeline charge.  

On the good news side, during our meeting with IUB staff, we spent quite a bit of time revising the Lifeline brochure and certification form, and we came to agreement on what it will say.  Now we are just waiting to see when the new rules take effect.  ITA and the IUB staff also looked at draft tariff revisions to eliminate LinkUp and modify the Lifeline sheet, and came to agreement on what those modifications should be.  As we discussed in Friday’s ITA Update, the advice as of right now for LECs is to modify the Telephone Tariff Sheet relating to LinkUp by deleting all references to LinkUp effective April 1st.  As for the Lifeline changes, ITA and IUB staff agreed to wait until the FCC issues more clarity on the effective date before revising the Lifeline tariff sheet.  

We hope to have more information soon.