Source: https://www.fcc.gov/print/node/58276
Timestamp: 2015-10-10 04:36:19
Document Index: 439487707

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54', '§ 54']

FCC Proposes $33 M In Penalties Against Three Lifeline Providers [1]	Download Options
The Commission’s rules further prohibit an ETC from seeking reimbursement for providing Lifeline service to a subscriber unless the ETC has confirmed the subscriber’s eligibility to receive Lifeline service.15 In accordance with Section 54.410, before an ETC may seek reimbursement, it must receive a certification of eligibility from the prospective subscriber that demonstrates that the subscriber meets the income-based and program-based eligibility criteria for receiving Lifeline service, (Continued from previous page) group of individuals who are living together at the same address as one economic unit”); Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 6760, para. 241 (noting that the costs of wireless handsets are not supported by the Lifeline program).6 See 47 C.F.R. § 54.403(a). Tribal lands include any federally recognized Indian tribe’s reservation, pueblo, or colony, including former reservations in Oklahoma. See 47 C.F.R. § 54.400(e).7 See 47 C.F.R. § 54.403(a); Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 6681, para. 53.8 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.400–54.422.9 47 C.F.R. § 54.407(a).10 47 C.F.R. § 54.407(b). In 2011, the Commission took action to address potential waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program by preventing duplicate payments for multiple Lifeline-supported services to the same individual. See Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Report and Order, 26 FCC Rcd 9022–23, 9026, para. 1 (2011) (Lifeline Duplicates Order); see also Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, Order, 28 FCC Rcd 9057 (Wir. Comp. Bur. 2013); 47 C.F.R. § 54.410(a). Specifically, the Commission amended Sections 54.401 and 54.405 of the rules to codify the restriction that an eligible low-income consumer cannot receive more than one Lifeline-supported service at a time. See Lifeline Duplicates Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 9026, para. 7. In the Lifeline Reform Order, this codified restriction was moved from Section 54.401(a) to revised Section 54.409(c). See Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 6689, para. 74, n.192. The Commission reiterated this limitation in the Lifeline Reform Order. See Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 6689, para. 74; 47 C.F.R. § 54.405.11 47 C.F.R. §§ 54.400(a), 54.409(c).12 47 C.F.R. § 54.410(d).13 47 C.F.R. § 54.410(a).14 See Lifeline Reform Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 6691, para. 78. In June 2013, the Wireline Competition Bureau on delegated authority underscored these obligations, prohibiting ETCs from activating “a service that it represents to be Lifeline service, even on an interim basis while the consumer’s application is being processed, before verifying eligibility,” including that a consumer’s household does not already subscribe to Lifeline service. Lifeline and Link Up Modernization and Reform, Order, 28 FCC Rcd 9057, 9059, para. 6 (Wir. Comp. Bur. 2013); see also 47 C.F.R. § 54.410(a).15 See 47 C.F.R. § 54.410(b).
and that the subscriber is not already receiving Lifeline service.16 As the foregoing discussion reveals, when an ETC seeks Lifeline service support reimbursement for a low-income consumer who already receives Lifeline service from that same ETC, that ETC has violated its obligation under the Commission’s rules to confirm the subscriber’s eligibility for Lifeline service. 6.
ETCs that provide qualifying low-income consumers with Lifeline discounts file an FCC Form 497 with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), either quarterly or monthly, to request support that reimburses them for providing service at the discounted rates. An ETC’s FCC Form 497 documents the number of qualifying low-income customers served and the total amount of Lifeline support claimed by the ETC during the specified time period. Section 54.407(d) provides that an ETC may receive reimbursement from the Fund, however, only if it certifies as part of its reimbursement request that it is in compliance with the Lifeline rules.17 An ETC may revise its Form 497 data within 12 months after the data are submitted.18 7.
In addition to reviewing claims submitted by ETCs, USAC conducts in-depth data validations (IDVs) to further ensure compliance with the Lifeline rules.19 When a company is selected for an IDV, USAC will send the company a letter requesting subscriber data for a prior month or months.