Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Guidance Regarding the 2013 Lifeline Recertification Process, 35632-35634 [2013-14065]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35632-35634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14065]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[WC Docket No. 11-42; DA 13-1188]


Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Guidance Regarding the 2013 
Lifeline Recertification Process

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) 
provides guidance regarding the 2013 Lifeline recertification process. 
The Bureau clarifies that all active Lifeline subscribers enrolled or 
recertified in a calendar year must be recertified the next calendar 
year, and in every calendar year thereafter. The Bureau also describes 
the process by which ETCs can elect to have the Universal Service 
Administrative Company perform the recertification process.

DATES: Effective June 13, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Lechter, Wireline Competition 
Bureau, (202) 418-7387 or TTY: (202) 418-0484.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Wireline 
Competition Bureau's Public Notice in WC Docket No. 11-42; DA 13-1188, 
released May 22, 2013. The complete text of this document is available 
for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC 
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-
A257, Washington, DC 20554. The document may also be purchased from the 
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. 
(BCPI), 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, 
telephone (800) 378-3160 or (202) 863-2893, facsimile (202) 863-2898, 
or via the Internet at https://www.bcpiweb.com. It is also available on 
the Commission's Web site at https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-provides-guidance-regarding-2013-lifeline-recertification-process.

I. Clarifications Regarding Recertification

    1. On October 1, 2012, GCI filed a petition seeking clarification 
of the recertification process after 2012 and the requirement that 
subscribers be recertified ``annually.'' GCI argues that the Commission 
should clarify that the subscribers subject to the annual 
recertification are only those subscribers that have not provided an 
initial certification in the same calendar year. GCI argues that 
``annual'' means that ETCs recertify subscribers once every calendar 
year, not every twelve months from the subscriber's initial 
certification or last recertification. Most commenters agreed that 
requiring recertification once each calendar year is the most 
administratively efficient option and is consistent with the Lifeline 
Reform Order, 77 FR 12784, March 2, 2012.
    2. We agree with GCI and clarify that ETCs must recertify each new 
subscriber in the calendar year following the year in which the 
subscriber initially enrolled in the Lifeline program. We also clarify 
that ETCs are required to recertify subscribers each calendar year. As 
discussed in more detail below, if a subscriber is either initially 
enrolled with or recertified by an ETC in a particular calendar year 
(e.g., 2013), the subscriber must be recertified by that ETC the next 
calendar year (e.g., 2014).
    3. Permitting recertification during the next calendar year, after 
both initial certification and recertification, is consistent with the 
Commission's approach in the Lifeline Reform Order to balance the need 
for a recertification

[[Page 35633]]

requirement with minimizing the burden of the recertification process 
on ETCs and consumers. In the Lifeline Reform Order, in order to 
eliminate ineligible consumers from the program, the Commission 
required ETCs to obtain proof of eligibility and certifications for all 
new subscribers enrolled after June 1, 2012. Subscribers that signed up 
prior to June 1, 2012, and therefore did not provide proof of 
eligibility because that requirement was not yet effective, had to be 
recertified by the end of 2012. Operating together, these two 
requirements ensured that by the end of 2012, ETCs would obtain from 
all subscribers either proof of eligibility or a certification from 
each subscriber that he or she was eligible. As the Commission 
explained, the recertification rule balances the need to identify and 
de-enroll ineligible subscribers with imposing fewer burdens on ETCs 
and consumers than other, more onerous, recertification requirements. 
Consistent with that approach, this clarification that ETCs must 
recertify Lifeline subscribers during the next calendar year balances 
the importance of the recertification rule with minimizing the burdens 
and costs on ETCs and consumers, while also providing ETCs with greater 
flexibility to tailor the recertification process to their particular 
business processes.
    4. Next, in order to provide additional guidance to ETCs and to 
further reduce the burden on ETCs, consumers, and USAC, we direct ETCs 
to use the FCC Form 497 filed in February of each year to establish the 
baseline of subscribers who must be recertified. To illustrate, an ETC 
must recertify in 2013 all subscribers enrolled prior to January 1, 
2013 and for which the ETC sought reimbursement on its February 2013 
Form 497. We conclude that a snapshot of consumers remains necessary to 
facilitate the recertification process, and in the absence of a 
snapshot with a stated baseline of subscribers subject to 
recertification, it would be difficult for the Commission or auditors 
to determine the number of subscribers subject to recertification or 
how many subscribers de-enrolled prior to the recertification attempt. 
A snapshot also provides a way to closely compare the number of 
subscribers subject to recertification and the number of subscribers 
de-enrolled for non-usage by month. When the Commission instituted the 
recertification requirement in the Lifeline Reform Order, it 
implemented a similar snapshot requirement for ETCs by requiring ETCs 
to use the May 2012 Form 497. While this snapshot was appropriate for 
the initial recertification round for the reasons described above, 
using an ETC's February Form 497 going forward ensures that nearly all 
subscribers subject to recertification in 2013 (i.e., those that 
enrolled or recertified prior to January 1, 2013) are included in the 
snapshot. A snapshot taken early in the year also allows ETCs the 
flexibility of starting their recertification process sooner and 
permits ETCs to further space-out the process as resources permit. We 
also conclude that a February snapshot, unlike a snapshot from December 
31 of the prior year, ensures that subscribers de-enrolled from the 
prior year's recertification process will not be subject to 
recertification in 2013. This same February snapshot will apply to 
subsequent years.
    5. Finally, we note that Sprint supports an option that would allow 
ETCs to recertify subscribers within twelve months from a subscriber's 
enrollment or anniversary date. Sprint argues that allowing this 
approach, in addition to a once per calendar year approach, will 
minimize subscriber confusion and be less administratively burdensome. 
The approach we adopt herein does not preclude an ETC from recertifying 
its subscribers every twelve months, and we encourage Sprint and other 
ETCs to recertify subscribers as soon and as often as is practicable, 
consistent with the clarifications we provide herein. For the reasons 
set forth above, however, we require only that a subscriber be 
recertified during the calendar year following the year in which the 
subscriber initially enrolled in the Lifeline program or was last 
recertified.

II. USAC Recertification Process

    6. Starting in 2013, ETCs have the option of having USAC conduct 
the annual recertification process on their behalf. The Commission 
delegated to the Bureau the authority to establish, in coordination 
with USAC, a process for USAC to recertify subscribers. We describe 
this process below.
    7. USAC will recertify subscribers by mailing each subscriber a 
letter that provides the subscriber the notice required by section 
54.405(e)(4) of the Commission's rules, informing the subscriber that 
the subscriber has 30 days to recertify the subscriber's continued 
eligibility to receive Lifeline service or the subscriber will be de-
enrolled from the Lifeline program. The letter will also explain the 
recertification process and how the subscriber may confirm his or her 
eligibility. Subscribers will also receive a call or text message 
during the 30-day period to prompt a response. Any subscriber response 
submitted after the 30-day deadline will not be processed and the 
subscriber will be considered ineligible for the program and will be 
de-enrolled.
    8. USAC will provide subscribers with three methods to respond to 
the letter and recertify their eligibility. First, USAC will accept 
consumer calls made to a toll-free number, during which consumers will 
be able to recertify eligibility through an Inter-Active Voice Response 
(IVR). Second, USAC will allow consumers to verify their identity, read 
the certification language, and submit a response indicating they are 
recertifying their eligibility through a Web site maintained by USAC. 
Third, subscribers may also recertify by signing a recertification form 
provided by USAC and mailing the signed form to a receiving address 
designated by USAC.
    9. ETCs must provide notice to USAC that they will elect the USAC 
recertification process by June 21, 2013. ETCs not making an election 
by the deadline will be presumed to have not elected to use USAC. The 
election is final for 2013 and will remain in place for future years 
unless affirmatively revoked by the ETC. This election must be made on 
an operating company basis and applies to all states and study area 
codes covered by the operating company.
    10. ETCs that elect to have USAC recertify their Lifeline 
subscribers must provide USAC with a subscriber list based on their 
February 2013 Form 497 in a standardized format by July 15, 2013, that 
includes first name, last name, address, Lifeline telephone number, 
date of birth, and last four digits of social security number for each 
subscriber (in order to validate the certifications received). To the 
extent that a state agency conducts recertification for all or a 
portion of an ETC's subscribers, the ETC may not elect to utilize USAC 
for recertifying those subscribers subject to recertification by the 
state agency. Therefore, prior to transmittal to USAC, the ETC should 
remove from its subscriber list those subscribers that are subject to 
the state agency's recertification process. Each ETC that selects USAC 
to perform the recertification process will provide a toll-free number 
that USAC can provide to the ETC's consumers who have questions about 
their service.
    11. USAC will complete the recertification process over a series of 
months, by grouping the ETCs that elect to have USAC complete the 
process into phases so that the influx of responses can be staggered. 
This grouping will be

[[Page 35634]]

done randomly and staggered based upon USAC capacity.
    12. USAC will compile the responses and provide each ETC with a 
record of the subscriber recertification. USAC will provide each ETC 
with a list of subscribers that did not recertify, and therefore must 
be de-enrolled, and provide ETCs with sufficient information to compile 
their FCC Form 555 at least 30 days before the annual January 31 due 
date. ETCs must de-enroll subscribers within five days of receiving 
notice that the subscriber has failed to recertify. As noted above, all 
active subscribers enrolled in Lifeline prior to 2013 and for which the 
ETC sought reimbursement on its February 2013 Form 497 are subject to 
recertification in 2013.
    13. We conclude that good cause exists to make the procedures 
established in this Public Notice effective immediately upon 
publication in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 553(d)(3) of 
the Administrative Procedure Act. We find good cause based on the need 
for the procedures to be in place and available to ETCs in time for 
ETCs to be able to submit their elections to USAC, and provide USAC 
with a subscriber list in time to comply with the procedures we adopt 
here.

III. Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    14. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA'') requires that agencies 
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for notice-and-comment 
rulemaking proceedings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. The RFA generally defines ``small entity'' as having 
the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small 
organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, 
the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term ``small 
business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A small business 
concern is one which (1) is independently owned and operated; (2) is 
not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any 
additional criteria established by the Small Business Administration 
(SBA).
    15. We hereby certify that the clarification and procedures 
announced in this Public Notice will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. In this Public 
Notice, the Commission eases the regulatory compliance burden on ETCs 
by allowing for greater flexibility to recertify their subscribers and 
by outlining the procedures for ETCs to have USAC perform 
recertifications on their behalf. This Public Notice does not modify 
any of our reporting requirements. The Commission will send a copy of 
this Public Notice, including this certification, to the Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy of the SBA. In addition, the Public Notice (or a summary 
thereof) and certification will be published in the Federal Register.

    Federal Communications Commission.
Kimberly A. Scardino,
Division Chief, Telecommunications Access Policy Division Wireline 
Competition Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2013-14065 Filed 6-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P