The FCC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, which has not always been on the same side of issues related to the Lifeline subsidy, are teaming up to raise awareness about the program.

Lifeline is the subsidy that helps eligible low-income consumers--on government food and health assistance, for example--get access to affordable broadband and phone service--up to $9.25 a month and up to $34.25 per month on tribal lands. 

Related: FCC Extends Lifeline Waivers 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many newly unemployed people who may not be aware that they are eligible for the subsidy. 

In a letter to NARUC members, FCC chairman Ajit Pai and NARUC president Brandon Presley, pointed to downloadable educational materials at lifelinesupport.org. 

"We hope that your state commission can circulate this information as widely as possible to consumers and other Lifeline stakeholders," they wrote. 

They also pointed out that the FCC has temporarily eased documentation requirements so that people can get the service and then establish eligibility. 

The FCC said it is making it easier for the newly unemployed due to the pandemic to qualify for subsidized broadband service. At the same time, it extended a number of Lifeline-related waivers given the ongoing pandemic.  

Realted: Pandemic Spurs Deregulatory D.C. 

Consumers on Medicaid or nutrition assistance programs qualify for the Lifeline monthly discounts on service, as can people who can show three consecutive months of unemployment. Since most pandemic-related job losses have been for far less than those three months, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau has waived that documentation requirement, at least until June 30. 

Related: FCC Won't Drop Suspect Lifeline Subs

"COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our economy," said FCC chairman Ajit Pai in a statement. "Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and it is important that they have the connectivity they need to apply for new jobs, take online classes, or get medical care via telehealth. I’m glad we’re granting this relief today, which will help those who may have only recently become eligible for Lifeline to sign up for the program and stay connected to vital broadband and phone services during the pandemic." 

The Wireline Bureau order also extended waivers related to Lifeline recertification, reverification, general de-enrollment, and usage.

"As millions shelter in place for their own health and that of their communities, Benton welcomes the FCC’s move to ease burdens on the newly unemployed," said Kevin Taglang of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. "In the emergency, the FCC must act quickly to get as many people connected as possible and today’s action is a step in the right direction. The FCC should follow up by ensuring everyone who files for unemployment is automatically enrolled in Lifeline and benefit from a reduction in their communications bill. The Commission should also expand Lifeline to provide a $50/month subsidy for broadband service."

New America's Open Technology Institute is calling on the FCC to free up big bucks for distance learning. 

In an emergency filing, it told the FCC it had $2.2 billion it could use from the E-rate schools and libraries Universal Service Fund subsidy and clearly had the authority since it just launched a $100 million telehealth pilot program using USF funds. 

Related: FCC Grants Various E-Rate Extensions 

It wants the FCC to immediately extend broadband access to millions of K-12 students currently lacking it.  

It also called on the FCC to extend E-rate funds, usually reserved for schools and libraries broadband nets, to off-site connectivity. 

The FCC has already waived restrictions on closed schools and libraries getting funds so they can continue to be hotspots for students in the vicinity. 

It also advocated for more distance learning dollars in the last stimulus bill and will do so in the next, FCC officials have said.

But OTI said the FCC can do more now with the money it has. 

“The FCC has the legal authority to immediately designate $2.2 billion in available E-Rate funding to help local schools mitigate this crisis," said Michael Calabrese, director of OTI's Wireless Future Project, who said the homework gap had become a chasm in the time of coronavirus.  

OTI added a plug for using more Lifeline subsidy funds funds to connect low-income residents required to stay at home during the pandemic.

In a further move in the FCC's effort to better target telecom and broadband funds and prevent waste, fraud and abuse, the Wireline Competition Bureau is "soft" launching its national Lifeline eligibility verifier in another 11 states on June 25: Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The first soft-launch states were Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) in those states who are eligible for the Lifeline subsidies will not be able to begin any subscriber re-certifications after June 25 and should wrap up any current certifications under the existing rules by Aug. 30. Certification consists of verifying that the subs it is serving with subsidies ($9.25 per month) qualify for the program, which is targeted at low-income residents and tied to qualifying for various other government subsidy programs—Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.).

ETCs will be able to test the new verifier before the FCC mandates its use so their employees can be ready on day one.

During the "soft" launch, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will start re-certifying subs using the national verifier. Anyone who can't be certified will be excluded from the program.

One of the things Pai did early on in his tenure was to revoke the most recent round of Lifeline until the FCC addressed the verification issue. Pai's stated goal is to prevent waste, fraud and abuse, something he has long targeted in the program, though critics have suggested it was a draconian hit on lower income residents being denied service.

Just ask Mary Smith Jr. III Esq., fraud remains a serious problem for the Lifeline program, the FCC's Office of Inspector General (OIG) said, and has issued an advisory to help identify the many ways it says the system is being gamed by carriers, agents and consumers.

FCC chair Ajit Pai has made weeding out waste, fraud and abuse in the Universal Service Program, which hands out billions in subsidies, a priority. The Lifeline program is one of those subsidies, targeted to low-income residents to insure they, too, have access to advanced communications, which increasingly means broadband.

The chairman has also proposed changes to the subsidy process, including capping the overall USF fund.

OIG said the advisory is meant to educate stakeholders about the "pervasive, fraudulent practices that violate program rules and divert monies from the intended beneficiaries of the program."

OIG's ongoing investigation of waste, fraud and abuse is in part a response to a GAO report that identified that as an ongoing problem. It still is, says OIG, and it will seek criminal and civil sanctions against fraudsters.

Related: FCC Creates Fraud Unit

OIG issued a report last year that estimated the fraud in 2017 alone at $330 million.

Among the examples of gaming the subsidy OIG has uncovered include:

1. Name/identity manipulation. OIG found thousand of instances of female names with generational suffixes--Jr. Sr.--when that is relatively rare. In fact, there was one with Mary Smith that had even added a "Mary Smith Jr. III" so one name could be spun out to qualify for four subsidies (see graphic below).

2. Non-qualifying programs. The Lifeline subsidy is only eligible to individuals living at 135% of the federal poverty benchmark, but some have been qualified simply because they are on Medicare, which does not necessarily mean they meet that poverty standard.

3. Bring out your dead. OIG has confirmed a GAO finding that tens of thousands of deceased individuals who have nonetheless been qualified for the broadband subsidies. 

And OIG is far from done, saying it has "a full roster of active investigations targeting companies and individuals who seek to defraud the Lifeline program. "