FCC Reaches $200M Lifeline Settlement With T-Mobile

T-Mobile agreed to pay $200 million to the U.S. Treasury to end a probe of Sprint’s compliance with Lifeline rules, the FCC announced Wednesday: It's "the largest fixed-amount settlement the Commission has ever secured to resolve an investigation."

The Enforcement Bureau said Sprint, before T-Mobile bought it, claimed monthly subsidies for some 885,000 Lifeline subscribers who weren't using the service. The Oregon Public Utility Commission brought this to light, the FCC said: "Sprint agreed to enter into a compliance plan."

T-Mobile, the FCC and Oregon PUC didn't comment right away.