Waiver Sought to Permit ETC to Keep Copies of Eligibility Documents

On January 22, 2014, TracFone Wireless filed a petition with the FCC asking the agency to waive a rule that prohibits ETCs from keeping copies of documentation they review to determine the eligibility of applicants for Lifeline support.  On January 31, the FCC issued a public notice that it will consider the petition, and announced that interested parties may file comments on the petition on March 3 and reply comments on March 18.  In its petition, TracFone claims that allowing ETCs to retain copies of eligibility documentation will make it harder for ineligible applicants to enroll in Lifeline.  It also argues that allowing ETCs to keep copies of this documentation will enable them to perform better internal reviews of their customer base, will help audits proceed more smoothly, and will facilitate faster resolution of errors within the National Lifeline Accountability Database.  Finally, TracFone argues that, in light of the recent Notices of Apparent Liability, it is unfair to prevent ETCs from retaining evidence that they comply with all Lifeline rules.  TracFone’s petition technically only requests a waiver for itself, although it filed similar petition in May 2012 seeking an industry-wide requirement to keep copies of the documentation.   A proposal along the same lines was also filed by the “Lifeline 2.0 Coalition” last summer.  Both proposals were widely support by ETCs.