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posted by janrinok on Thursday November 07 2019, @02:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the I'd-call-and-complain...oh dept.

Submitted via IRC for exec

FCC crackdown on cellphone subsidies leaves millions without service

The Ajit Pai-era FCC has spent much of its energy cracking down on claimed abuses of the Lifeline subsidy program, but this anti-fraud effort may be hurting low-income households more than it helps. The investigative news outlet Center for Public Integrity has used FCC data to determine that nationwide enrollment for cellphone subsidies has dropped by about 2.3 million people, or 21 percent, since 2017. The cuts have been particularly severe in places like the District of Columbia, where 49 percent of Lifeline users lost their subsidies between March 2018 and June 2019. Mississippi, Wyoming and Puerto Rico also lost a third or more of their enrollment in the same time frame.

Some of the problems may stem from a verifier system that was approved in 2016. It was meant to automatically check whether people qualified for Lifeline service and reduce fraud, but its incomplete access to benefit databases appears to have rejected people who were eligible for the program. Enrollment has plunged in those six states where the verifier launched, although a connection to the Medicaid database (and ideally state databases) might solve some of these problems.

However, the current FCC's crackdown (including ongoing support of the verifier) is raising concerns that it's simply interested in cutting off support for poor people, in sync with a presidency that has focused on cutting other benefits for low-income homes. There are particular concerns that changes due in December may prompt carriers to quit Lifeline and leave customers without access. Networks are supposed to help Lifeline recipients by providing more data and phasing out support for call minutes, but they're expected to complain when the subsidy amounts to less than $10 per month.

Based on a story from USA Today


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  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday November 07 2019, @03:22PM (2 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday November 07 2019, @03:22PM (#917343) Journal

    Unlikely. Let's be real here: this always has been, and still remains today, a man's world. Very few women of any sexual orientation are in positions of any real power, and a distressing number of *them* have been corrupted by money and power to the point where they happily throw other women *and* men under the bus.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 07 2019, @05:35PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 07 2019, @05:35PM (#917395)

    a distressing number of *them* have been corrupted by money and power to the point where they happily throw other women *and* men under the bus.

    It would be wise to your worldview so you stop being surprised by the same thing over and over.

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday November 08 2019, @03:39AM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday November 08 2019, @03:39AM (#917724) Journal

      I'm not surprised, just saddened. It's something I was expecting to happen but hoping against hope wouldn't. When you get right down to it, greed is the cardinal human sin and everyone (yes, even me) has their price.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...