Lifeline Program Overview

Transcription

1 FCC USAC Joint Training Event Lifeline Program Overview June 19, 2012 Washington, DC

2 Lifeline Program Overview Lifeline Reform Order Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 2

3 Lifeline Reform Order Highlights of the Lifeline Reform Order Flat Rate Lifeline Reimbursement, effective April 2, but temporary waiver until August One per household rule, effective June 1, 2012 Elimination of Link Up on non Tribal Lands, effective April 2, 2012 Cap and phase down of Toll Limitation Service (TLS) support, effective April 2, 2012 Uniform Eligibility Criteria, effective June 1, 2012 Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 3

4 Lifeline Reform Order Highlights of the Lifeline Reform Order Conditional Forbearance from Facilities Requirement Initial Enrollment and Annual Re Certification Procedures, effective June 1, 2012 Non Usage, effective May 1, 2012 Three Month Transition to Payments Based on Actuals, June October 2012 National Lifeline Accountability Database to prevent duplicates 2012 Savings Target of $200 million Broadband Pilot Program Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 4

5 Lifeline Reform Order Lifeline Qualifying consumers pay reduced charges or receive free minutes. May apply discounts to any residential service plan that includes voice telephony service, including bundle packages of voice and data services, and plans that include optional calling features such as, caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, and three way calling. ETCs provide free, or discounted, service to eligible consumers and claim reimbursement from USAC. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 5

6 Lifeline Reform Order Changes to Lifeline Support Tiers 1, 2, and 3 replaced by an interim flat rate reimbursement of $9.25 Data months April through July 2012, ETCs can claim either tiers or flat rate Beginning with support claim for August 2012, ETCs must claim flat rate Tribal Lifeline support equals the basic flat rate of $9.25 rate plus enhanced Tribal support Enhanced Tribal support for Tribal residents is an additional federal Lifeline support of up to $25 per month available to eligible residents of Tribal Lands Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 6

7 Lifeline Reform Order Duplicative Support One Lifeline connection is allowed per household A household may have only one Lifeline connection among its members. A household is defined as, any individual or group of individuals who are living together at the same address as one economic unit. An economic unit consists of all adult individuals contributing to and sharing in the income and expenses of a household. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 7

8 Lifeline Reform Order Duplicative Support A Lifeline applicant must complete a Household Worksheet to determine whether he or she resides at an address with one household, or multiple households, whenever there is another Lifeline subscriber at the same address. Lifeline subscribers must annually re certify that no one else in their household has Lifeline service. No individual may have more than one Lifeline supported service. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 8

9 Lifeline Program Overview Link Up Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 9

10 Link Up Changes to Link Up On April 2, 2012, Link Up support was eliminated, except for ETCs serving Tribal Lands that also receive High Cost support. Enhanced Tribal Link Up remains available: For eligible Tribal customers, additional reduction of up to $ is available for eligible individuals living on Tribal Lands; and Covers 100% of charges up to $ for commencing service at subscriber s principal place of residence. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 10

11 Lifeline Program Overview Toll Limitation Service Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 11

12 Toll Limitation Service Toll Limitation Service TLS allows eligible consumers to subscribe to toll blocking or toll control at no cost. Consumers must voluntarily elect. Carriers may not charge a service deposit to customers who elect toll blocking. Carriers may only claim incremental cost of providing TLS. Carriers may not claim tariffed rate. Carriers do not need to offer TLS when pricing of services does not distinguish between toll and non tolls. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 12

13 Toll Limitation Service Changes to Toll Limitation Service Phased out over the next two years $3.00 cap on TLS claims beginning April 1, 2012 through remainder of 2012 $2.00 cap on TLS claims beginning January 1, 2013 No TLS support available beginning January 1, 2014 Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 13

14 Lifeline Program Overview Eligibility Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 14

15 Eligibility Consumer Eligibility Program based federal eligibility criteria: Medicaid Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly Food Stamps Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) National School Lunch Free Lunch Program Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 15

16 Eligibility Income based federal eligibility criteria: Household income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 16

17 Eligibility Changes to Eligibility Criteria Federal default eligibility criteria are now uniform eligibility criteria in all states. States can add additional programs that are based on income of participants. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 17

18 Eligibility Tribal Consumer Eligibility Eligibility for residents of Tribal Lands includes all the criteria for non Tribal, plus: Tribally administered TANF, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) General Assistance, Head Start Program (income eligible only), and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 18

19 Eligibility Carrier Eligibility Carriers eligible for Lifeline Program support: Must be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) by state commission or FCC. States generally consider ETC designation petitions unless a particular state lacks regulatory authority over a certain type of carrier (e.g., wireless); in those cases, carriers must receive ETC designation from the FCC. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 19

20 Eligibility Forbearance from Facilities Requirements FCC forbears from applying Section 214(e)(1)(A) facilities requirements to allow non facilities based carriers (resellers) to become ETCs, subject to two requirements: Non facilities based carriers must comply with 911 requirements Provide 911 and E911 access, regardless of activation status and availability of minutes Provide handsets that are E911 compliant Non facilities based carriers must obtain Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) approval of a compliance plan. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 20

21 Lifeline Program Overview Carrier Obligations Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 21

22 Carrier Obligations ETCs must verify a Lifeline applicant s eligibility at enrollment by: Accessing a state or federal database to determine an individual s eligibility; Receiving confirmation from a state agency or third party administrator responsible for enrolling applicants; or Reviewing documentation from the applicant that demonstrates eligibility. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 22

23 Carrier Obligations Certification and Re Certification ETCs must obtain certifications from every Lifeline subscriber that complies with the criteria in Section : At the time of enrollment; and Annually, based on the company s Lifeline subscriber base as of June 1 (May support claims). ETCs must make annual certifications and submit the results of their consumer re certifications by January 31. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 23

24 Carrier Obligations Non Usage ETCs that offer pre paid Lifeline service (customer does not pay a monthly bill) must monitor usage to identify Lifeline subscribers that do not use their phones for 60 consecutive days. Must provide consumer with 30 days notice. If no response after 30 days, must be de enrolled from Lifeline and ETC cannot claim support. Number of de enrolled for non usage must be reported by month on ETC annual certification form. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 24

25 Carrier Obligations ETCs must de enroll a Lifeline customer if the customer: Is found to have duplicate Lifeline accounts; Does not use service for 60 consecutive days; Fails to re certify his or her eligibility; or Fails to re certify that his or her household has only one Lifeline account. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 25

26 Lifeline Program Overview Program Integrity Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 26

27 Program Integrity Payments based on actual support claims ETCs are currently paid based on a projection generated by USAC, which is trued up against their actual support claims for a particular month. By October 2012, all ETCs must be paid on actual claims. Three month transition between August and October during which payments will move from projections to actuals. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 27

28 Program Integrity National Lifeline Accountability Database ETCs will query the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) to determine whether: An applicant already has a Lifeline account; Anyone else at the applicant s address is receiving Lifeline; and ATribal applicant has already received Link Up at the current address. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 28

29 Program Integrity ETCs will be required to transmit subscriber information to the NLAD including: Subscriber s full name; Full residential address; Date of birth; Last four digits of Social Security Number or Tribal Identification Number; Telephone number associated with Lifeline account; Date of Lifeline service initiation and termination, if applicable; Amount of support sought for the subscriber; and The means by which the subscriber qualified for Lifeline. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 29

30 Program Integrity Ongoing Initiatives to Protect Program Integrity Beneficiary audits Payment Quality Assurance (PQA) Program Support Reviews Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 30

31 Program Integrity Duplicate In Depth Data Validations Lifeline Reform Order directs USAC to continue in depth data validations (IDVs) to identify subscribers with more than one Lifeline service. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 31

32 Program Integrity 2012 Savings Target of $200 million Savings as a result of reforms related to Link Up and duplicate IDV de enrollments Additional steps: Reducing support amount Accelerating deployment of NLAD could be pursued if savings target seems unattainable Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 32

33 Lifeline Program Overview Broadband Pilot Program Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 33

34 Broadband Pilot Program Lifeline Broadband Pilot Program Funding is capped at $25 million. There is a significant data collection component; Questionnaire requires collection of household demographic data from individual subscribers. Each project will be funded for 12 months, with three months allowed for starting up and three months for completing the reporting requirements (18 months in total). Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 34

35 Broadband Pilot Program Lifeline Broadband Pilot Program WCB released a Public Notice (PN) April 30, 2012 Applications are due by July 2, 2012 Applicants must be ETCs WCB will select a diverse group of projects Geographic area (urban, rural, Tribal) Technology (fixed, mobile) Preference will be given to projects that partner with third parties, such as BTOP and BIP grantees. Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 35

36 Contacts Questions? Please contact us! Pam Gallant Senior Director of Lifeline Program Phone: Website: Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 36

37 Thank you! Lifeline Program Training, presented by the FCC and USAC 37