FCC's Lifeline survives cuts and aims higher

This week the Federal Communications Commission approved a comprehensive overhaul of its Lifeline low-income program, staving off efforts to slash the program. But the FCC's reform took only limited steps to update the program for the broadband era.

Over the past 25 years, the Lifeline program has helped increase telephone accessibility and ownership significantly. According to the FCC, "...the percentage of low-income households with phone service has increased from 80% in 1985, when Lifeline began, to nearly 92% last year."

The FCC's Lifeline reforms emphasize cost savings, detailing "changes to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, saving up to $2 billion over 3 years." In particular, the FCC will create a National Lifeline Accountability Database to eliminate the practice -- all too common among some prepaid wireless carriers -- of disregarding the one-per-household subsidy simply so they could collect the Lifeline subsidy. That must be ended.

Perhaps more importantly, and thanks to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Lifeline opponents did not succeed in capping the program. It remains just what it says, a lifeline for all those low-income households who need help with telecommunications access.

The Lifeline changes also include a $25 million Broadband Adoption Pilot Program "to test and determine how Lifeline can best be used to increase broadband adoption among Lifeline-eligible consumers." In addition, the law will allow Lifeline support for bundled service plans combining voice and broadband or packages including optional calling features.

In response, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, praised FCC Chairman Genachowski and Commissioner Clyburn for recognizing "that Lifeline must be kept intact so that it can one day be modernized to include access to internet services and to narrow the digital divide."

According to the LCCR release, "The announcement now opens the door for a future modernization of the program to help bridge the digital divide by updating it for broadband, as The Leadership Conference has called for..."

In that vein, Henderson urged the FCC and Congress to move forward expeditiously. As he said, "We strongly urge the Commission to take further steps by implementing these projects as quickly as possible and getting them up and running in 2012."

CWA and Speed Matters fully support both the FCC plan and President Henderson's concern that the program must be updated for the broadband era. All Americans deserve - and for the good of the country, need - access to all our communications technology.

FCC Reforms, Modernizes Lifeline Program for Low-Income Americans (FCC, Jan. 31, 2012)

Civil and Human Rights Coalition Praises FCC's Genachowski and Clyburn for Refusing to Hobble the Lifeline Program (LCCR, Jan. 31, 2012)

Statement of Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn Approving in Part (FCC, Jan. 2012)