FCC Delays Initial Rollout of Lifeline National Verifier Until 'Early 2018'; Security Issues Cited

The FCC pushed back the launch of a Lifeline national verifier of consumer eligibility for the low-income USF support program, citing the need to address security issues. The initial implementation of the national verifier, scheduled this month in six states, is being postponed until "early 2018," said a Wireline Bureau public notice Friday in docket 11-42.

Lifeline "is an important tool for closing the digital divide but for too long, it’s [been] plagued by waste, fraud, and abuse," said Chairman Ajit Pai, noting the national verifier will determine whether individuals are eligible for the program's broadband and voice service benefits targeting low-income consumers. “Unfortunately, I learned yesterday that the National Verifier will not be able to pass key security checks this year that [the Universal Service Administrative Co.] is responsible for completing." The national verifier "is critical to the success" of Lifeline, but "we cannot ignore our duty to safeguard consumers’ personal information. We must get this right," he said. "I have asked Commission staff to work with USAC to address these security concerns fully and expeditiously."

USAC recently told the bureau that national verifier systems "have unresolved potential vulnerabilities" that haven't been resolved under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), said the public notice. "If the National Verifier is launched before its underlying systems have been fully tested and before USAC has remediated critical vulnerabilities, the security of personal subscriber information located in the National Verifier databases could be compromised."

The bureau said it expects the delay until early 2018 to give USAC enough time "to complete all FISMA requirements" before the launch in the six planned states identified in an Aug. 31 PN: Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. A "soft launch" in the six states -- allowing Lifeline carriers to begin using the national verifier while still able to employ current processes -- had been set for Tuesday, with a hard launch scheduled for March 13.

Also Friday, the FCC issued the text of its decisions and proposals to overhaul Lifeline that were adopted by a 3-2 vote at the Nov. 16 meeting (see 1711160021). Pai and fellow Republicans said the 90-page item combining three orders, an NPRM and a notice of inquiry was aimed at cracking down on program abuse, setting an effective budget cap, better targeting funding to needy consumers and areas, and promoting facilities-based deployment. Dissenting Democrats said the actions and proposal would effectively gut the program and widen the digital divide.

The Michigan Public Service Commission asked the FCC to extend its current waiver from Lifeline eligibility criteria changes for another year, through Dec. 31, 2018. "This will allow stakeholders in Michigan more time to determine if any statutory changes ... need to take place and what changes may need to be made to the [Michigan Lifeline Eligibility Database]," said the MPSC letter Thursday. The extension "would also allow more time for the MPSC and USAC to work together towards the integration of Michigan’s data sources into a solution that will feed into the national database" and "avoid a dual state and federal verification process for all of the providers in Michigan, which would be costly and time-consuming."