Bureau Action Sets Lifeline Minimum Standard
The FCC Wireline Bureau set the Lifeline monthly minimum service standard for broadband at 4.5 GB on delegated authority, after a circulated order that would have done similar didn’t get enough commissioner votes, said an order released Monday. Without FCC action, the MSS would have increased from the current 3 GB to 11.75 Dec. 1, but with the order the 4.5 GB MSS will take effect on that date. The order partially grants a petition for a waiver from the National Lifeline Association, which sought to freeze the MSS at 3 GB.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
“The order states that the scheduled increase to 11.75 GB could risk undue disruption for Lifeline subscribers and providers," emailed an FCC spokesperson. "But allowing the standard to stay at 3 GB, as the petitioner requested, would risk leaving Lifeline consumers behind at a time when broadband access is more important than ever.” Lifeline advocates say the industry can't survive with a 4.5 GB MSS.
The Wireline Bureau also extended COVID-19 Lifeline waivers and denied NaLA’s stay request. See here and here. NaLA didn’t comment.