FCC Still Trying To Get Handle on Data Behind Lifeline, Other USF Programs, Managing Director Says
The FCC is trying to complete what is in effect a complete rethinking of the USF Lifeline program, Managing Director Jon Wilkins said Thursday at a Silicon Flatirons Center symposium webcast from Boulder, Colorado. The agency has a pending NPRM on how to modernize the program for low-income consumers (see 1508050032).
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“What we’re really trying to do is look at the Lifeline subscriber base, or more importantly the eligibility base … and just break it down and figure out how can we build it back up and make sure it works better,” Wilkins said. The FCC has been working behind the scenes under Chairman Tom Wheeler to get a better handle on the data behind all the USF programs, he said.
When he became chairman, Wheeler asked how many veterans in rural areas get support from the Lifeline program, with its $1.6 billion annual budget, Wilkins said. “We had no idea, and that just reflects the way the system has developed and the way the program is run,” he said. But the FCC is getting a much better view of who uses the various programs, he said. “We are going to have a much better sense of here’s really where the gaps are.” One big issue is that teachers are reluctant to use the faster broadband available in schools if “half their kids” don’t have access to broadband at home, said Wilkins. “They can’t then do the online learning,” Wilkins said. “In theory, that could be a Lifeline solution. That’s what Lifeline is there for.”
Lifeline “at its core is an affordability program,” Wilkins said. “It was envisioned as a way to basically make sure people didn’t lose access to phone service. They could call 911 if they need help if nothing else.” The FCC tested Lifeline as a broadband program, but the results of a pilot program “were not very impressive,” he said.
Wilkins said only a handful of providers are participating in the Lifeline program, but the FCC would like more to take part. “It’s got to be one of the very rare government subsidiary programs where we actually have trouble getting companies to take the money,” he said. “For an issue that could be a lot more partisan, there’s a lot of agreement that providing access to broadband is a good thing.” The debates are about how much the program should cost and what its terms should be, he said.
Denver Public Schools Chief Information Officer Sharyn Guhman said the E-rate program has been critical to getting broadband connections in schools. “We’re excited about the direction that the program is going,” she said. “What it’s not allowing us to do is transfer that learning experience home and outside of the school day.” Students are expected to learn at home as well as when they are at school, Guhman said. “Without the tools outside the classroom, there is a limitation.”
Nicol Turner-Lee, vice president of the Multicultural Media, Telecommunications and Internet Council, said many civil rights advocates are concerned about broadband access. The question is how big a role the government must play, she said. “We know that employment and jobs have moved online and we’ve got to do what’s in our best interest to ensure that everybody has access.”