The FCC should grant a permanent waiver of...
The FCC should grant a permanent waiver of rules requiring the Oregon Public Utility Commission to provide a copy of a Lifeline subscriber’s certification form to eligible telecom carriers before that ETC can claim reimbursement from the federal USF, said…
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the OPUC and the Oregon Telecommunications Association in a FCC petition Monday (http://bit.ly/1bSqPsA). The FCC Aug. 30 granted a limited waiver to California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah and Vermont to allow more time for those states to implement a process to share copies of consumer eligibility certifications for Lifeline support with ETCs (http://bit.ly/1aRhRz3). The rules to require state Lifeline administrators provide subscriber certification forms to the ETCs are “unnecessary and cost prohibitive in Oregon,” said the petition. “Requiring the OPUC to provide copies of the certification forms to the ETCs does nothing to enhance the validity of the subscriber’s eligibility for Lifeline, but adds to the burden and costs to both the OPUC and the ETCs.” In turn, this will result in an “unnecessary lag” in the delivery of Lifeline benefits to eligible consumers, it said. The OPUC’s policy to verify ETC eligibility and perform checks to eliminate duplicate Lifeline benefits presents a “special case” compared to states where the ETCs are solely responsible for the same functions, said the petition. A weekly report of all Lifeline consumers approved by the OPUC is electronically transmitted to the applicant’s respective ETC, said the OPUC. This electronic notification is comparable to the certification form and it provides “sufficient safeguards” for the ETC to begin providing Lifeline benefits and apply for reimbursement from the federal USF, said the petition.