Smith Bagley Urges Tribal Lifeline Reseller Restriction; NTCA Seeks Minimum Service Relief
Cellular company Smith Bagley asked the FCC to limit eligibility for enhanced tribal Lifeline USF support to facilities-based carriers, and NTCA petitioned for near-term wireline relief from new Lifeline minimum service standards. The enhanced support helped Smith Bagley (Cellular One)…
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construct more than 200 cellsites and upgrade its network, said a filing posted Monday in docket 11-42 on meetings with Wireline Bureau staffers and aides to all FCC commissioners other than Jessica Rosenworcel. Allowing resellers to receive enhanced support discourages network investment, said the provider. It also asked the FCC "to carefully calibrate any limitation on enhanced Lifeline that related to population density so as to not exclude Tribal lands whose residents are in difficult circumstances." NTCA asked the FCC to set aside updated Lifeline minimum service standards for fixed, wireline broadband internet access services (BIAS) eligible for support. The agency should "temporarily waive the strict application of the new minimum service speed standard and 'grandfather' existing BIAS customers [with 10/1 Mbps] service, enabling such consumers to continue to receive that service should they so choose," it petitioned. "Because the increase in speed [to 15/2 Mbps] will almost certainly come with an increase in monthly rates that may be unaffordable for some low-income consumers, the updated minimum speed standard could have the unintended consequence of forcing some low-income rural consumers to discontinue their service." NTCA said a long-term solution is needed to help RLECs offer stand-alone, affordable broadband.