WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 2, 2015): The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), the National Urban League, and 15 other national and regional civil rights, professional, intergovernmental, and community-based organizations filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission in support of the Commission’s efforts to modernize the Lifeline program to include subsidized access to high-speed broadband. The filing’s 17 signators (collectively, “Lifeline Supporters”), representing tens of thousands of diverse voices across the nation, also include the NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Rainbow PUSH Coalition, among others.
The Lifeline program, established in 1985 to help low-income Americans access essential communications services they could not otherwise afford, currently covers landline telephones only and offers just one subsidy per household. As the FCC has acknowledged, the telecommunications landscape is changing, with more households discontinuing landline telephone service and opting for mobile and broadband connections which have become essential factors toward success in today’s digital economy. In addition to supporting the Commission’s efforts at modernizing the Lifeline program to include a subsidy for broadband Internet service, the Lifeline Supporters urged the agency to change the “one-per-household” rule to “one-per-adult” to accommodate household sharing trends among impoverished families (with multiple, unrelated adults living in one household) in order to ensure these individuals will qualify for the Lifeline program.
The Lifeline Supporters also recommended collaboration between the FCC and other government agencies and programs, such as the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), to determine household eligibility for the Lifeline subsidy and to leverage the efficiencies of coordinating enrollment and de-enrollment in Lifeline with enrollment in other federal assistance programs. Like the SNAP program’s electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, the Lifeline Supporters suggest the Commission implement a “Lifeline Benefit Card” that would transfer the subsidy to the consumer and allow them to use it on the services they find most desirable.
“Modernizing the Lifeline program is essential to serving millions of Americans who cannot afford modern telecommunications services such as home and mobile broadband,” stated MMTC President and CEO Kim Keenan. “We urge the FCC to implement our recommendations that will expand the current program from simple telephone service to the data and Internet services that will grant access to job applications, remote learning, and vital healthcare information. This program is the lifeline to closing the digital divide and ensuring first class digital citizenship for all.”
Other reforms the Lifeline Supporters recommended included: allowing eligible Lifeline subscribers to choose between voice, broadband, or both as part of the modernized program; establishing minimum service requirements for high-speed broadband to ensure Lifeline participants can seamlessly access robust online content; instituting coordinated enrollment with other national public benefit programs and eliminating eligibility determination by Lifeline service providers; encouraging participation from the broad spectrum of service providers to expand consumer service options; and leveraging national, regional, and local organizations to raise awareness about the program and aid in program enrollment.
The full comments are available online.
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About MMTC:
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) is a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media, telecommunications and broadband industries, and closing the digital divide. MMTC is generally recognized as the nation’s leading advocate for minority advancement in communications.
