Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., urged the FCC...
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark., urged the FCC to take “bolder action” to reform the Lifeline program, in a letter sent Wednesday to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Pryor said more must be done to prevent abuses by some…
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wireless companies that he said are using the program to offer subsidized wireless services to low-income Americans. “While I recognize that the program does not actually pay for free cell phones, the manner in which some wireless companies provide and aggressively market these prepaid phones to vulnerable consumers is cause for concern,” Pryor said. “These practices create confusion among consumers and, as we have seen, provide fertile ground for those who would abuse this program.” Specifically, Pryor urged the FCC to stop prepaid wireless providers from participating in the Lifeline program, place a hard cap on the FCC’s annual amount of Lifeline support, freeze Lifeline certification for new telecom carriers until a comprehensive review is conducted by the FCC inspector general and study the effectiveness of the current Lifeline program.