WTA Replies to Comments on Lifeline Reform at the FCC

Today, WTA filed replies to comments in the Lifeline Reform proceeding before the FCC. WTA again urged the FCC to avoid adopting reforms that would increase inefficiencies and reduce burdens and costs to providers and consumers, including by leveraging existing benefit enrollment and state-based Lifeline verification systems and retaining the current Lifeline support distribution mechanism. WTA also urged the FCC to proceed with reforms to rate-of-return universal service rules to allow carriers to obtain support based on data-only connections and to make long overdue reform to the USF contribution methodology.