Don't Make Tribal Lifeline Subscribers Opt-In to ACP: Smith Bagley

Allow tribal households that qualified as Lifeline subscribers for the FCC emergency broadband benefit program to participate in the affordable connectivity program without needing to opt in, Smith Bagley urged Wireline Bureau staff, said an ex parte letter posted Tuesday in docket 21-450. Those households "will see no change in their benefit, nor their service offering, when [EBB] transitions to ACP" and "would find it much more difficult to execute an opt-in requirement than most others in the nation," Smith Bagley said. It also asked that "no fundamental changes" be made to the National Lifeline Accountability Database because providers can adjust discounts within NLAD and remove households that no longer qualify.