FCC Tribal Lifeline Order Vacated by DC Circuit, Remanded for New Rulemaking
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit handed the FCC a loss Friday, rejecting tribal Lifeline support limits and procedures. The FCC's 2017 tribal order was vacated and remanded for a new rulemaking.
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The order restricted an additional $25 per month tribal Lifeline subsidy to services provided by eligible telecom carriers that use their own fixed or mobile wireless facilities, excluding carriers that resell services provided over other carriers’ networks. The move limited the extra subsidy to residents of “rural” areas on tribal lands. That additional money, beyond the $9.25 per month provided for Lifeline service, had been available since 2000.
“The Commission’s adoption of these two limitations was arbitrary and capricious by not providing a reasoned explanation for its change of policy that is supported by record evidence,” Judge Judith Rogers said in an opinion. “In adopting the Tribal Facilities Requirement, the Commission’s decision evinces no consideration of the exodus of facilities-based providers from the Tribal Lifeline program. Neither does it point to evidence that banning resellers from the Tribal Lifeline program would promote network buildout. Nor does it analyze the impact of the facilities requirement on Tribal residents who currently rely on wireless resellers.”
Judges Thomas Griffith and Raymond Randolph were the other members of the panel.
The FCC and the National Lifeline Association didn't comment immediately. The case, 18-1026, is NaLA v. FCC.