FCC Shouldn't Forget Voice-Only Subscribers in Reforming Lifeline Program, Sprint Says
Sprint supports expanding the Lifeline program to pay for broadband, but the FCC shouldn't forget about voice-only subscribers, carrier representatives said in a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and others at the agency. “While recognizing the importance of…
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Lifeline support for broadband services, Sprint emphasized the fundamental need to maintain a voice-only Lifeline service option and described the significant impact an end-user co-pay would have on participation rates by the most vulnerable consumers,” Sprint said in the filing posted filing posted Thursday in docket 09-197. Sprint also issued a warning on the cost of providing broadband service. “Given the financial constraints under which the federal Universal Service Fund operates and the economics of providing broadband service" a "broadband-centric Lifeline program which includes overly ambitious performance standards will almost certainly involve out-of-pocket payments by Lifeline subscribers, both for monthly service and for the purchase of a broadband-capable device,” the carrier said. “There is no support in the record that a monthly subsidy of $9.25 would cover the cost of providing broadband service.”