FCC Lifeline Reseller Ban Proposal Likely to Hurt Program, Low-Income People, AEI Fellow Says
The FCC proposal to ban reseller participation in Lifeline USF drew more fire (see 1802210045 and 1802220061), now from Daniel Lyons, an American Enterprise Institute visiting fellow and Boston College associate law professor. Lifeline is a "noble" venture, but it's…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
one of the commission's "most problematic" programs, "suffering repeated criticism" from GAO and others "for waste fraud and abuse," he blogged Monday. "But far from improving Lifeline, this proposal is likely to undermine the program and harm the vulnerable populations that the program seeks to serve." Lifeline "is not the vehicle to pursue" broadband investment, though it's a "worthy goal," he said. The reseller ban would restrict choice and ignore Lifeline consumer preferences and "the role that wireless substitution plays in low-income communities," he wrote. The FCC declined to comment.