Lifeline is the Federal Communications Commission's program, established in 1985, intended to make communications services more affordable for low-income consumers. Lifeline provides subscribers a discount on monthly telephone service purchased from participating providers in the marketplace. Subscribers can also purchase discounted broadband internet from participating providers. The Lifeline program is funded by telephone fees as part of the Universal Service Fund.
Overview
Main program Lifeline provides a discount on monthly service of $9.25 per month for eligible low-income subscribers. Subscribers may receive a Lifeline discount on either a wireline or a wireless service, but may not receive a discount on both services at the same time. Lifeline also supports broadband and broadband-voice bundles. FCC rules prohibit more than one Lifeline service per household. Residents of Native American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities may qualify for enhanced Lifeline assistance (up to an additional $25.00). Lifeline is available to eligible low-income subscribers in every state, territory, commonwealth, and on tribal lands. To participate in the program, subscribers must either have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, or participate in certain assistance programs. Companies that have participated in the lifeline program include Assurance Wireless, Safelink Wireless, and Life Wireless.
The Lifeline program led to a rumor that the government was paying for people to get free "Obama phones", though the program was not started under the Obama administration, and the program neither covers the cost of the phone itself, nor is it paid with taxpayer funds.
Link up America Link-Up America assisted consumers with the installation costs of phone service. Link-Up program paid up to 50% or $30 of the telephone service installation fees, and provides up to $200 of one year, interest-free loans for any additional installation costs. On January 31, 2012, among other changes to the Lifeline Program, the FCC announced that they would be ending the Link-Up America Program, except on Indian reservations. Residents of Native American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities may qualify for expanded Link-Up support (up to an additional $70.00).
Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier (NLAD) Starting in June 2018 and fully rolled out by December 2020, the USAC set up the Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier as a centralized database to determine whether subscribers are eligible for the Lifeline program. The database was also used to determine eligibility for the COVID-era Emergency Broadband Benefit program and the successor Affordable Connectivity Program while those programs were active. The database determines eligibility in all US states, territories, and Washington DC, with the exception of the three opt-out states: California, Texas, and Oregon. These states remain responsible for determining eligibility of their own residents.
History
Early history (1984–2011) The FCC established the Lifeline program in 1984 to provide qualified individuals with discounts on phone service. In 1997, the FCC broadened the scope of the program under the 1997 Universal Service Order to make Lifeline more affordable for low-income households by raising the federal support amount. Due to the rise of cell phones, the FCC made more changes in 2005 so that wireless phone service providers could offer free cell phone service using Lifeline benefits.
Julius Genachowski (2009–2013) On January 31, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission approved an order changing the Lifeline Program to reduce fraud and abuse. to require Lifeline subscribers to provide income documentation. This change led to savings of over $213 million in 2012. The reform happened amidst criticism of significant waste in the program, such as the fact that there was no database to check if any of the 17 million households received subsidies for more than one phone. In April 2013 a hearing was held before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, to explore issues relating to whether the program should be eliminated or placed under a budget cap, and if not, whether a freeze should be put in place until the reform measures currently underway are completed.
Tom Wheeler (2013–2017) In 2013, the Lifeline program paid out $1.8 billion in subsidies to telephone companies; reduced to $1.5 billion by 2015. The number of subsidy recipients was down to 12 million households by 2015.
In June, 2015, the FCC announced steps to modernize and reform Lifeline for broadband. Public comments were sought, with a deadline of August 31, 2015. On March 31, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission set a plan to reform the Lifeline program. The reform attempted to make the Lifeline program more modern and comprehensive to present day society. The 2016 Lifeline Modernization Order included that broadband service would be provided to low income households as an addition to the preexisting Lifeline program benefits. The commission also set service standards in order to ensure the highest value for the Universal Service Fund. The FCC projected that the annual amount of mobile voice minutes available for each individual household per month will increase, while the cost of voice support will simultaneously decrease and will eventually become a completely unsubsidized service. The FCC also appointed a National Eligibility Verifier whose purpose would be to determine the eligibility of the independent subscribers to the program. On April 1, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission voted to expand the Lifeline telephone subsidy for low-income Americans to include Internet access. On April 27, 2016, the full text of the ruling was released. The key points of the decision include:
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