Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our weekly newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the weekly Coronavirus briefing.
Sign up for our Media & Entertainment newsletter
You must correct or enter the following before you can sign up:
Thank You!
Law360 (August 18, 2020, 7:44 PM EDT) -- Rural tribal consumers will find it easier, at least temporarily, to obtain federal help to stay connected during COVID-19 as the Federal Communications Commission has waived until Nov. 30 several of the usual paperwork requirements to use the Lifeline subsidy program.
Although the FCC on Monday ordered that an array of rules the agency imposes to qualify for the Lifeline subsidies would be held off for 15 more weeks, the extensions fall short of requests by advocates for low-income populations to delay them for the rest of the year.
The extension through November is needed with the ongoing effects of the novel coronavirus and the demands to stay connected via phone and internet, the FCC said.
"Efforts to slow the spread of the disease have resulted in the dramatic disruption of many aspects of Americans' lives, including social distancing measures to prevent person-to-person transmission that have required the closure of businesses across the country for indefinite periods of time," the order said.
"Telemedicine, telework and online learning continue to be necessary social distancing measures, which has emphasized the importance of access to affordable communications services for low-income consumers," the commission added.
The affected rules deal with recertification, reverification, "general de-enrollment," subscriber usage, income documentation and documentation requirements for subscribers residing in rural areas on tribal lands, according to the FCC.
In June, the FCC ordered the temporary easing of Lifeline's program application and enrollment process and allowed providers to immediately grant services to tribal consumers before they submitted necessary documentation. But those waivers expire at the end of this month.
In Monday's order, the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau said it found "good cause" to extend its prior waivers.
"We will continue to monitor the situation to determine whether any additional extension of these waivers is appropriate," it said.
Some on the commission have called for an even greater expansion of the Lifeline program, and 15 Democrats on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee said Thursday in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai that the agency should offer unlimited voice minutes and mobile data to Lifeline recipients "with a corresponding increase in the support amount to cover incremental costs."
The lawmakers said the FCC has previously "expanded the Lifeline program's benefits to help Americans stay connected after disasters." While the program typically provides $9.25 per month to qualifying households, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the FCC voted to provide $130 to qualifying households to receive handsets and voice minutes "in order to help them get back on their feet," they said.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks recently concurred with the idea of expanding Lifeline.
"I agree that we must meet the connectivity needs of our most vulnerable Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic," he posted Thursday on Twitter. "We need bold action to strengthen the Lifeline program in order to meet those needs."
--Additional reporting by Julia Arciga. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
