Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 20–445; FCC 21–29; FRS

19812]

Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program

AGENCY

: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION

: Final rule.

SUMMARY

: In this document, the Federal

Communications Commission

(Commission) established the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

(EBB Program) to support broadband

services and devices to help low-income

households. The Consolidated

Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA)

established an Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund of $3.2 billion in the

Treasury of the United States for the

fiscal year 2021, to remain available

until expended. The CAA directed the

Commission to use the fund to establish

the EBB Program, under which eligible

low-income households may receive a

discount off the cost of broadband

service and certain connected devices

during an emergency period related to

the COVID–19 pandemic.

DATES

: Effective April 13, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Jodie Griffin, Wireline Competition

Bureau, 202–418–7400 or by email at

jodie.griffin@fcc.gov. We ask that

requests for accommodations be made

as soon as possible in order to allow the

agency to satisfy such requests

whenever possible. Send an email to

fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer

and Governmental Affairs Bureau at

(202) 418–0530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

Report and Order (RO) in WC Docket

No. 20–445; FCC No. 21–29, adopted

February 25, 2021 and released

February 26, 2021. Due to the COVID–

19 pandemic, the Commission’s

headquarters will be closed to the

general public until further notice. The

full text of this document is available at

the following internet address: https://

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-

21-29A1.pdf

I. Introduction

1. In the RO, the Commission

establishes the EBB Program to support

broadband services and devices to help

low-income households stay connected

during the COVID–19 pandemic. Efforts

to slow the spread of COVID–19 have

resulted in the dramatic disruption of

many aspects of Americans’ lives,

including social distancing measures to

prevent person-to-person transmission

which have required the closure of

businesses and schools across the

country for indefinite periods of times,

and in turn has caused millions of

Americans to become newly

unemployed or unable to find work.

These closures have also led people to

turn to virtual learning, telemedicine,

and telework to enable social distancing

measures, which has only increased

every household’s need for access to

broadband services. The cost of

broadband services, however, can be

difficult to overcome for low-income

families and for families that have been

struggling during the pandemic.

2. On December 27, 2020, the CAA

became law. Among other actions

intended to provide relief during the

pandemic, the CAA established an

Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund of $3.2 billion in the Treasury of

the United States for the fiscal year

2021, to remain available until

expended. The CAA directed the

Commission to use the funds to

establish the EBB Program, under which

eligible low-income households may

receive a discount off the cost of

broadband service and certain

connected devices during an emergency

period relating to the COVID–19

pandemic, and participating providers

can receive a reimbursement for such

discounts.

3. In creating the EBB Program, the

CAA does not preclude the Commission

from utilizing in whole or in part any of

the Commission’s part 54 rules or

amending them to suit the EBB Program.

Moreover, Congress directed the

Commission to utilize existing

regulatory tools in support of the EBB

Program, such as the National Verifier

and the National Lifeline Accountability

Database—originally designed to

support the existing Lifeline program—

which helps ensure low-income

consumers have access to affordable

voice or broadband internet access

service. The EBB Program, however, is

funded through a separate appropriation

from the Universal Service Fund.

Consistent with Congress’s direction in

the CAA, the Commission establishes

the EBB Program.

II. Discussion

4. The Commission establishes the

requirements and processes of the EBB

Program, pursuant to the CAA. The

Commission sets forth the providers that

may participate in the EBB Program, the

household eligibility requirements for

the program, benefits for covered

services and devices, the program’s

budget and reimbursement, and other

administrative aspects of the program.

5. Participating Providers. In the CAA,

Congress required that in order to

participate in the EBB Program a carrier

must have provided broadband internet

access service to households as of

December 1, 2020. To meet these

requirements, Congress defined

‘‘participating provider’’ as either an

existing eligible telecommunications

carrier (ETC) or providers approved by

the Commission under an ‘‘expedited

approval process.’’ Congress directed

the Commission to create an ‘‘expedited

approval process’’ to approve providers

to participate EBB Program where the

provider is not an existing ETC. This

expedited approval process requires that

providers with an ‘‘established program

as of April 1, 2020’’ offering broadband

services to eligible households with

verification process sufficient to prevent

fraud, waste, and abuse ‘‘shall be

automatically approve[d].’’ The

Commission seeks to encourage as many

providers as possible to participate in

the EBB Program. Consistent with the

CAA and the proposal in the Public

Notice, DA 21–6, the Commission also

adopts a carrier election process

administered by USAC applicable to all

providers participating in the EBB

Program. Providers that are not

designated as an ETC by a state or the

Commission must also file for automatic

approval or seek expedited approval

from the Commission. In the CAA,

Congress recognized the pressing need

to quickly deliver much-needed support

to Americans by providing the

Commission with the authority to

streamline and expedite the provider

participation process. At the same time,

the Commission must also safeguard the

EBB Program’s funding to ensure it

provides help to those in need and is

not wasted by providers unable to

quickly deliver broadband services.

Accordingly, the election and approval

process the Commission adopts

provides assurances that providers can

promptly deliver broadband services to

low-income households.

6. The Commission directed the

Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB),

within seven days of the adoption of the

RO, to announce a timeline for the

submission of information by providers

required by the CAA, such as

applications from non-ETCs to

participate in the EBB Program, requests

by all providers for approval of

alternative verification processes, and

the submission by ETCs and non-ETCs

of election notices. By Public Notice, DA

21–265, the WCB set a priority

application deadline of March 22, 2021,

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by which providers must submit these

filings to receive approval prior to the

beginning of the EBB Program. The

Commission also directs the WCB to

announce at a later date other

administrative deadlines or milestones,

such as when the EBB Program will

begin and when providers may begin

enrolling subscribers in the program.

The Commission expects that the EBB

Program and the enrollment process

will begin in less than 60 days after the

adoption of the RO.

7. Providers Eligible to Participate. In

the CAA, a ‘‘participating provider’’ for

the EBB Program shall be a ‘‘broadband

provider’’ that is either ‘‘designated as

an eligible telecommunications carrier’’

or seeks approval from the Commission

for participation in the EBB Program.

The Commission agrees with

commenters that the Commission

should establish a broad,

technologically neutral approach to

provider participation in the EBB

Program. This interpretation of provider

eligibility aligned with the plain

language of the CAA, which defined

‘‘broadband provider’’ as any ‘‘provider

of broadband internet access service.’’

Further, the CAA defined ‘‘broadband

internet access service’’ broadly by

referencing the definition in § 8.1 of the

Commission’s rules. Section 8.1 of the

Commission’s rules defines ‘‘broadband

internet access service’’ as:

a mass-market retail service by wire or radio

that provides the capability to transmit data

to and receive data from all or substantially

all internet endpoints, including any

capabilities that are incidental to and enable

the operation of the communications service,

but excluding dial-up internet access service.

This term also encompasses any service that

the Commission finds to be providing a

functional equivalent of the service described

in the previous sentence or that is used to

evade the protections set forth in this part.

Accordingly, ETCs and non-ETCs

seeking to participate in the EBB

Program must establish they provide

broadband services. the Commission

declines to further narrow provider

eligibility among those providers that

offer broadband services as defined by

the CAA. This interpretation allows

participation by not only ETCs or non-

ETCs like traditional internet Service

Providers (ISPs) including cable

providers and wireless internet service

providers, but also non-traditional

broadband providers like community-

owned networks, electric cooperatives,

or municipal governments.

8. In the CAA, Congress established

that participating providers would be

eligible to receive reimbursement for

‘‘internet service offering[s]’’ offered in

the ‘‘same manner, and on the same

terms, as described in any of such

provider’s offerings for broadband

internet access service to [an eligible]

household[s], as on December 1, 2020.’’

The Commission interprets this

provision to require participating

providers to have offered retail

broadband internet access service to

eligible households as of December 1,

2020. Consistent with the Commission’s

broadband data reporting rules,

participating providers will be able to

establish through certification that they

provided broadband internet access

service and reimbursable internet

service offerings on December 1, 2020,

through reference to timely filing of FCC

Form 477. For providers that do not file

FCC Form 477, participating providers

must certify that they provided retail

broadband internet access service to

end-users as of December 1, 2020. The

Commission further clarifies that the

retail broadband internet access service

must be provisioned to end users,

meaning the provider of retail

broadband internet access service

maintains a direct relationship with the

customer, is responsible for dealing

with customer complaints, handles

customer billing, and provides quality

of service guarantees to the end user.

The Commission finds these provider

certifications, in addition to the

submission of broadband plan and rate

information described in the following,

appropriately satisfied the CAA’s

eligibility requirements. As described

further in the following, ETCs must

make a showing that they offer

qualifying broadband service in the

election notice filed with USAC. Non-

ETCs must make a threshold showing in

the approval process to the WCB.

9. Election to Participate in

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

by Existing ETCs and Bureau-Approved

Providers. The CAA directed the

Commission to establish an expedited

process where existing ETCs and other

approved providers could ‘‘elect’’ to

participate in the EBB Program and gain

access to the necessary USAC databases

used to administer the Program. The

Commission adopts the proposal to

require all participating providers to file

an election notice to participate in the

EBB Program. This election will be filed

with USAC to facilitate the

administration of the EBB Program and

provide USAC the necessary

information to incorporate providers

into its systems for eligibility

determination, enrollment, and

reimbursement.

10. Existing ETCs will need to only

file an election with USAC, while non-

ETCs will need to first apply and then

obtain WCB approval prior to filing

their election with USAC. Accordingly,

the Commission directs the WCB to

establish a priority application window

during which non-ETC providers

seeking approval to participate in the

EBB Program will have the opportunity

to obtain approval prior to

commencement of consumer

enrollments. Non-ETCs that file

complete applications for approval

meeting the necessary criteria by the

priority application deadline will know

their status prior to the start date for the

EBB Program. The Commission believes

establishing this priority application

deadline provides adequate time for

prospective providers to evaluate the

rules of the EBB Program adopted and

to prepare applications, while also

encouraging prospective providers to

accelerate their consideration consistent

with the need to quickly begin

providing these supported broadband

services. The Commission directs the

WCB and USAC to work expeditiously

to review provider applications and

elections, respectively, and the

Commission directs the WCB to issue

additional guidance and instruction as

necessary for providers seeking to

participate in the EBB Program. Further,

the Commission expects the WCB and

USAC to prioritize their reviews to limit

excessive delay in issuing approvals of

the applications and elections once

properly submitted by the providers.

11. The Commission agrees with

commenters that providers and, more

importantly, their subscribers should

have equal opportunity and access to

the Emergency Broadband Benefit. By

allowing non-ETC providers to obtain

the necessary administrative approvals

prior to the commencement of the EBB

Program, eligible households will have

more choices in the provider they can

select to obtain supported broadband

service and devices. Following the close

of this priority application window, the

WCB, in coordination with USAC, will

establish and announce a uniform start

date on which providers can begin to

enroll qualifying subscribers in the EBB

Program. This start date must allow for

processing of elections and applications

of both existing ETCs and non-ETCs to

enable a consistent start date for all

providers.

12. By establishing a priority

application window and uniform start

date, the Commission intends to afford

providers the necessary time to update

their systems and enrollment processes

to effectively participate in the EBB

Program. Furthermore, preparation and

modification to both Commission and

USAC systems is necessary to

administer the EBB Program. While

leveraging the existing Lifeline

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processes provides some efficiencies,

USAC needs to modify the Lifeline

systems to accommodate workflows

associated with the EBB Program,

including updates to the National

Verifier, NLAD, RAD, and the Lifeline

Claims System (LCS). These updates

require development, security

assessments, and privacy assessments

and approvals required by the Privacy

Act, such as System of Records Notices

(SORNs), Computer Matching

Agreements (CMAs), and systems

testing to ensure an effective launch.

These measures comply with

Congressional and government-wide

directives designed to protect the

privacy and security of members of the

public who submit their information to

the government, including households

who choose to participate in the EBB

Program. While the Commission can

launch the EBB Program with manual

review processes that do not require all

of these approvals, automated

eligibility, and administrative processes

greatly improve functionality. The

Commission remains committed to

expeditiously and successfully

launching the EBB Program.

13. Obligations of Existing ETCs to

Participate in the Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program. The CAA provides that

an existing ETC is a ‘‘participating

provider’’ for the purposes of the EBB

Program. The CAA does not require

existing ETCs to seek approval to

participate in the EBB Program. Instead,

existing ETCs must only ‘‘elect’’ to

participate in the EBB Program to be

eligible for reimbursement for

broadband services. Existing ETCs will

be able to file these elections to

participate in the EBB Program in the

states or territories where they have

already received an existing ETC

designation. To ease administrative

burdens, the Commission allows an ETC

to file an election for itself and its

affiliates who provided broadband

service as of December 1, 2020, within

the states or territories (collectively

‘‘jurisdictions’’) where the provider was

designated as an ETC. In other

jurisdictions where neither the provider

nor its affiliate has an existing ETC

designation, the provider must seek

either automatic or expedited approval

from the WCB prior to submitting the

election notice to USAC.

14. The Commission finds extending

elections to ETC affiliates consistent

with the Commission’s practices in

Lifeline and High Cost that ETCs can

satisfy their statutory obligations to

‘‘offer’’ reimbursable and supported

services through affiliated entities.

Similarly, commenters supported the

ability of ETCs and affiliates to elect to

participate in jurisdictions where the

ETC is designated. Allowing elections to

be filed for both ETCs and affiliates

without seeking additional approval for

the affiliated entities will also ease

administrative burdens and more

quickly allow providers access to the

EBB Program. Further, ETCs and

affiliated entities are more familiar with

the obligations and requirements within

a particular jurisdiction to safeguard

funds similar to the EBB Program. The

Commission finds permitting this

election to be consistent with the CAA’s

provisions regarding ETC elections and

the Commission past treatment of ETC

requirements.

15. The Commission declines to adopt

the proposals in the record that would

allow an existing ETC to offer service

supported by the EBB Program in any

jurisdiction, or even nationwide,

regardless of where the ETC has been

designated or where it had previously

provided broadband service. First, ETC

designations are inherently

geographically limited due to the

unique authority states have to

designate ETCs. Thus, the Commission

believes the provision in the CAA that

relies on existing ETC designations and

automatically qualifies ETCs to

participate in the EBB Program supports

the proposition that ETCs should be

limited in the EBB Program to the

jurisdictions in which they have already

been designated. Moreover, had the

CAA intended to allow ETCs to offer

supported service everywhere regardless

of the designation, Congress would not

have needed to provide a path for non-

ETC providers to participate in the EBB

program. As identified in the record,

providers with existing ETC

designations or affiliated with ETCs

have significant relevant experience

with the policies and procedures

needed to carry out the EBB Program

obligations. However, in states where a

provider is not designated as an ETC,

the Commission has less confidence that

the provider has established procedures

and compliance processes necessary for

EBB Program participation in that state.

This decision is further bolstered by the

CAA’s requirement that participating

providers would be eligible to receive

reimbursement for ‘‘internet service

offerings’’ offered in the ‘‘same manner,

and on the same terms, as described in

any of such provider’s offerings for

broadband internet access service to

[eligible] household, as on December 1,

2020.’’ Approving a provider to

participate in a jurisdiction where it

previously did not offer service would

render this statutory provision moot.

16. Provider Election Process to

Participate in the Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program. The Commission

directs USAC, under the supervision of

and in coordination with the WCB, to

establish and administer a process to

enable all participating EBB Program

providers to file election notices

containing information sufficient to

effectively administer the program. The

Commission directs USAC to collect

information in such notices that

includes: (1) The states in which the

provider plans to participate in the EBB

Program; (2) a statement that, in each

such state, the provider was a

‘‘broadband provider’’ as of December 1,

2020; (3) a list of states where the

provider is an existing ETC, if any; (4)

a list of states where the provider

received FCC approval, whether

automatic or expedited, to participate, if

any; (5) whether the provider intends to

distribute connected devices under the

EBB Program; (6) a description of the

internet service offerings for which the

provider plans to seek reimbursement

from the EBB Program in each state; (7)

documentation demonstrating the

standard rates for those services; and (8)

any other administrative information

necessary for USAC to establish

participating providers in the EBB

Program. In addition to these criteria,

participating providers must certify

under penalty of perjury that the

information set forth in the election

notice is true, accurate, and complete;

they understand and will comply with

all statutory and regulatory obligations

described within the RO, including the

public interest conditions of offering

EBB Program services throughout the

provider’s designated service area; and

all terms and conditions and other

requirements applicable to using the

National Verifier, NLAD, RAD, and

other USAC systems. Providing

materially false information in the

election notice will disqualify a

provider from participation in the EBB

Program. The Commission finds support

in the record for adopting these

requirements and certifications. These

requirements also align with the CAA’s

requirements for provider participation

and eligibility.

17. Provider elections must include

the following information to establish

that the provider has met the criteria

and can provide enough information to

allow USAC to administer the EBB

Program. The Commission directs

USAC, under the supervision of and in

coordination with the WCB, to establish

and administer this election process

consistent with the RO.

(a) List of states in which the provider

plans to participate in the EBB Program.

A provider must list each state in which

it will offer EBB Program services.

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Consistent with USAC’s existing

processes, providers should be prepared

to identify to USAC the postal ZIP

code(s) or Census Block(s) where the

provider will offer EBB Program service

to obtain Service Provider Identification

Number(s) (SPINs) or Study Area Codes

(SACs) to the extent necessary.

(b) A statement that, in each such

state, the provider was a ‘‘broadband

provider’’ as of December 1, 2020.

Consistent with the Commission’s

broadband data reporting rules,

participating providers will be able to

establish that they provided broadband

internet access service and reimbursable

internet service offerings on December

1, 2020 through reference to previous

FCC Form 477 filings. Providers are

required to submit data as of December

31, 2020, and reference to an FCC Form

477 filing for the December data

submission will demonstrate the

provider offered broadband services.

Providers that are not required to file

FCC Form 477 must certify that they

provided retail broadband internet

access service to end users as of

December 1, 2020 and identify the

underlying carrier providing the

network facilities.

(c) A statement identifying where the

provider is an existing ETC. A provider

who is an ETC or is affiliated with an

ETC seeking to begin offering the

Emergency Broadband Benefit must

submit to USAC documentation

demonstrating that it is a participating

provider in specific states. While ETCs

are automatically eligible to participate

and likely have already obtained

administrative numbers from USAC,

such as SPINs or SACs, requiring

demonstration of ETC status, filing this

statement with USAC will allow for

better processing of elections.

(d) A statement identifying where the

provider received FCC approval to

participate in the EBB Program.

Providers seeking approvals outside of

states where they are existing ETCs or

are affiliated with existing ETCs will

need to identify those states and submit

to the WCB approval to participate in

the EBB Program.

(e) A statement confirming whether

the provider intends to distribute

connected devices under the EBB

Program. Providers seeking

reimbursement for connected devices

must submit a statement of intent to

distribute connected devices as part of

their election notice. These providers

should also include documentation

detailing the equipment, rates, and

applicable costs of the laptop, desktop

or tablet. Connected devices should be

accessible to and usable by users with

disabilities. To the extent the provider

will offer connected devices that are

also generally available to the public, it

may provide summary information

regarding the devices, rates, and costs,

such as a link to a public website or

screenshots.

(f) Description and documentation of

the internet service offerings for which

the provider plans to seek

reimbursement from the EBB Program in

each state. Providers must submit

documentation for the internet service

offerings they will offer through the EBB

Program. The participating provider

should provide information detailing

each service offering for which it plans

to seek reimbursement from the EBB

Program. This information and

documentation should identify the

service plan, details about the service

such as speed and data caps, the service

offering standard rate, equipment costs,

jurisdiction where it is offered, and

documentation establishing the rate was

available on December 1, 2020. The

provider can provide this information

and documentation through the

submission of price lists, rack rates, rate

cards, or similar documentation. For

service offerings that are publicly

available a website or screenshot can be

provided. For offerings that cannot be

publicly viewed the provider should

submit documentation demonstrating

the offering was available on December

1, 2020, such as customer bills or

publicly available advertisements. The

provider can provide aggregated

summaries of service offerings and

standard rates made available to eligible

households, if those offerings and rates

are the same for multiple jurisdictions.

This will reduce the administrative

burden for both participating providers

and the Commission in producing and

reviewing voluminous service offering

descriptions that are substantially

similar.

18. In addition, providers must also

be able to provide or otherwise obtain

the necessary administrative

registrations to utilize Commission and

USAC processes. These processes

include the Commission Registration

System (CORES), FCC Registration

Number (FRN), Service Provider

Identification Number(s) (SPINs), Study

Area Codes (SACs), System for Award

Management (SAM), and/or Dun &

Bradstreet DUNS number for all entities

the provider anticipates seeking

reimbursement. Providers should be

prepared to provide this administrative

information during the election process

to USAC.

19. Processing of Elections. The

Commission directs USAC in

coordination with the WCB to

expeditiously process election notices.

USAC should establish necessary

systems and processes to systematically

review election notices as quickly as

possible, and at least ensure all

elections filed by existing ETCs and

elections from providers seeking

approvals in the priority application

window are processed prior to the

commencement of the EBB Program.

USAC should notify a provider

promptly if its election notice is

incomplete or otherwise contains errors

that prevent USAC from processing the

election notice. USAC shall process

election notices received during the

priority application window prior to the

uniform reimbursement start date.

USAC will only reject election notices

that are materially incomplete, and that

the provider fails to update.

20. Non-ETC Provider Application

and Approval Process. The CAA

established that providers not already

designated as an ETC that wish to

participate in the EBB Program can seek

either an automatic or expedited

approval from the Commission based on

certain criteria. Specifically, the CAA

required the Commission to establish an

expedited process for such approval and

‘‘to automatically approve as a

participating provider a broadband

provider that has an established

program as of April 1, 2020, that is

widely available and offers internet

service offerings to eligible households

and maintains verification processes

that are sufficient to avoid fraud, waste,

and abuse.’’ Consistent with this

Congressional directive, the

Commission establishes both an

automatic approval and an expedited

approval process for non-ETC providers

seeking to participate in the EBB

Program. The Commission delegates to

the WCB the authority to establish the

process by which providers seek these

approvals, including through

appropriate direction to USAC. Eligible

providers that have submitted complete

applications by the priority application

deadline will know prior to the start

date of the EBB Program if they are

eligible to participate. Applications

from providers filed after priority

application deadline will be reviewed

on an expedited, rolling basis.

21. Some commenters suggested the

Commission provide an opportunity for

states to assist in the decisions to

approve non-ETC providers for the EBB

Program. After due consideration, the

Commission declines to provide a

formal role in the approval process to

state public utilities commissions

(PUCs). First, the Commission

acknowledges the states’ traditional and

essential role in designating ETCs as

provided in section 214 of the

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Communications Act of 1934. It is well-

established that states have the primary

responsibility for designating ETCs, and

the Commission is only to designate an

ETC where a state lacks jurisdiction

over the carrier applying for

designation. In fact, in the CAA,

Congress recognized the importance of

states’ roles in the selection of providers

for the EBB Program by permitting ETCs

designated by states automatic entry.

However, the CAA also specifically

requires that non-ETC providers be

approved for participation by the

Commission and does not provide a role

for the states. The Commission also

recognizes this is a temporary,

emergency program with limited

funding and it is essential the

Commission moves quickly in

establishing the EBB Program and

approving the participating providers.

While the Commission declines to

establish a formal role for states in the

approval of those non-ETC providers,

the Commission recognizes the states’

interest in knowing the providers who

are or will be providing the supported

broadband service in their jurisdiction

and thus will make publicly available

the names of approved providers in

each state, along with other information

related to the Commission approvals.

22. Automatic Approval Process for

Providers with Existing Support

Programs. The Commission adopts an

automatic approval process consistent

with the CAA to enable non-ETC

broadband providers with ‘‘an

established program as of April 1, 2020,

that is widely available and offers

internet service offerings to eligible

households and maintains verification

processes that are sufficient to avoid

fraud, waste, and abuse’’ to be

automatically approved upon the filing

of information meeting the criteria. Any

non-ETC broadband provider seeking to

qualify for such automatic approval

must file an application describing: (1)

The jurisdiction in which it plans to

participate, (2) the service areas in

which the provider has the authority, if

needed, to operate in each state, but has

not been designated an eligible

telecommunications carrier, and (3) a

description, supported by

documentation, of the established EBB

Program with which the provider seeks

to qualify for automatic admission to the

EBB Program.

23. Established Program as of April 1,

2020. To facilitate provider

participation in the EBB Program, the

Commission adopts a broad

interpretation of what constitutes an

‘‘established program’’ that is ‘‘widely

available.’’ The Commission finds that

this requirement encompasses any

eligible broadband provider that

maintains an existing program that was

made available by April 1, 2020 to

subscribers meeting at least one of the

criteria in the CAA’s definition of an

eligible household. Specifically,

providers offering broadband

subscribers discounted rates based on

criteria such as low-income, loss of

income, participation in Federal, state,

or local assistance programs, or other

means-tested eligibility criteria qualify

for this automatic approval process.

Additionally, providers that made

commitments to keep subscribers

connected during the pandemic and

offered widely available bill forbearance

or forgiveness programs beginning no

later than April 1, 2020, and continuing

through the end of this EBB Program,

will be eligible for automatic approval.

The Commission finds that providing

automatic approval for providers that

actively offer targeted low-income

programs or programs in which

providers otherwise engaged in

systematic and ongoing billing

practices, like forbearance or

forgiveness, that actively reduced costs

for struggling subscribers is consistent

with the CAA’s requirements. These

actions reduced the financial burden on

struggling households consistent with

the Congressional intent of the EBB

Program. The principal consideration in

determining an ‘‘established program’’

for automatic approval is whether

subscribers receive or were eligible to

receive a financial benefit through either

reduced rates or rate forbearance.

24. Consistent with such a broad

interpretation, the Commission finds

that a program is ‘‘widely established’’

when it was offered to subscribers in a

substantial portion of the service

provider’s service area in a particular

state. The Commission declines to adopt

an interpretation that a program must be

offered throughout the provider’s

national or multi-state service territory

to be widely available. The Commission

finds support in the record that many

considerations factor into offering such

programs that are not consistent across

jurisdictions, such as state and local

privacy laws, access to eligibility

information, broadband carrier

requirements, or the lack of consistent

assistance programs. The Commission

believes Congress’s use of ‘‘widely

available’’ in lieu of more sweeping

alternatives expresses the intent to have

this term apply to service offerings

made publicly available even if the

existing program was not available

throughout a provider’s entire service

area. Further, the public interest favors

an interpretation of this requirement

that broadly defines the type of

qualifying programs, supports

expeditious entry where possible and in

turn makes EBB Program support

available as quickly as possible.

25. Required Verification Processes.

The CAA also requires that providers

seeking automatic approval to

participate in the EBB Program have

established programs that maintain

verification processes that are

‘‘sufficient to avoid fraud, waste, and

abuse.’’ The Commission finds that

applying this requirement in a forward-

looking manner strikes the appropriate

balance between responsible

stewardship of the funds and ensuring

broad provider participation. Providers

that have been offering a broadband

program for eligible households have

generally foregone collecting revenue

they might otherwise have assessed

from participating subscribers. Those

providers therefore already have

incentive to prevent enrollment in their

programs by ineligible households.

Providers submitting applications for

automatic approval must describe only

the established program and

participation requirements to meet the

approval criteria.

26. Providers that receive automatic

approval to participate in the EBB

Program will use the Lifeline National

Verifier and NLAD to verify household

eligibility or their own alternative

household eligibility verification

processes, or the combination of both

before seeking reimbursement. Even if a

provider has its own existing broadband

program for determining eligible

households, it may decide to use the

National Verifier for some or all

applications to the EBB Program,

although it is not required to do so. The

Commission finds that permitting

automatically approved providers to use

USAC’s eligibility determination

systems in a manner consistent with the

CAA as described in the following

further bolsters program protections

against waste, fraud, and abuse.

27. Timing of Approvals. Providers

that file applications certifying to and

making necessary demonstrations for

the criteria outlined in the document

will receive approval automatically

upon filing once the WCB confirms all

required information was submitted.

The Commission agrees with

commenters in the record who argue the

intent of Congress was to create an

automatic presumption of approval for

providers with existing support

programs. Thus, the Commission

delegates to the WCB the authority to

create and administer an application

process that will automatically approve

provider applications meeting the

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criteria described in the document.

Additionally, once approved, all

providers must file with USAC an

election to participate in the EBB

Program to gain access to USAC

systems.

28. Expedited Review Process for Non-

ETC Providers. The Commission adopts

an expedited review process for non-

ETC providers that do not qualify for

automatic application processing and

are not affiliated with an ETC in the

same jurisdiction. Such providers must

file an application for expedited review

to receive approval from the WCB to

participate in the EBB Program. As

proposed in the Public Notice, DA 21–

6, each non-ETC broadband provider

seeking to participate must file an

application describing: (1) The state(s)

in which it plans to participate, (2) the

service areas in which the provider has

the authority, if needed, to operate in

each state but has not been designated

an eligible telecommunications carrier,

and (3) documentation of the provider’s

plan to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.

These requirements align with the

CAA’s requirements for provider

participation and eligibility.

29. Provider applications for review

must establish a sufficient showing that

the provider has met the criteria for

expedited review and approval, as

outlined in the following. The

Commission directs the WCB to

establish and administer this expedited

application review process consistent

with the RO.

(a) A list of states or territories where

the provider will offer EBB Program

services. A provider seeking approval

must list each jurisdiction in which it

seeks to be approved to offer EBB

Program services. While the provider

need only identify the state or territory

where it plans to offer qualifying

services for purposes of its submission

to the WCB, providers should be

prepared to identify to USAC in their

election the postal ZIP code(s) or Census

Block(s) where EBB Program service

will be offered to obtain Service

Provider Identification Number(s)

(SPINs) or Study Area Codes (SACs), as

necessary.

(b) A statement identifying the

jurisdiction in which the provider

requires FCC approval and jurisdictions

in which the provider is an existing

ETC. Providers that are designated as an

ETC or affiliated with an ETC in some

states or territories must submit an

application and obtain WCB approval to

participate in the EBB Program in states

or territories where the provider is not

designated as an ETC. Providers, even if

already designated as an ETC in some

states or territories, must seek WCB

approval to offer EBB Program services

in states or territories in which the

provider is not designated as an ETC.

Because such applications will be

reviewed on either an automatic or

expedited basis, the Commission does

not expect such a requirement to impose

a significant burden on providers.

Providers without an ETC designation

or unaffiliated with an ETC must certify

that they are authorized to provide

broadband services as of December 1,

2020.

(c) Documentation of the provider’s

plan to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.

Participating provider applications must

include a certification that the provider

understands and complies with all

statutory and regulatory obligations,

including those described within the

RO, as public interest conditions of

offering EBB Program services.

Specifically, a provider must certify that

it will:

(i) Confirm a household’s eligibility

for the EBB Program through either the

National Verifier or a Commission-

approved eligibility verification process

prior to seeking reimbursement for the

respective subscriber;

(ii) follow all enrollment requirements

and obtain all certifications as required

by the EBB Program, including

providing eligible households with

information describing the Program’s

eligibility requirements, one-per-

household rule, and enrollment

procedures;

(iii) interact with the necessary USAC

systems, including the National Verifier,

NLAD, and RAD, before submitting

claims for reimbursement, including

performing the necessary checks to

ensure the household is not receiving

duplicative benefits within the EBB

Program;

(iv) de-enroll from the EBB Program

any household it has a reasonable basis

to believe is no longer eligible to receive

the benefit consistent with Program

requirements;

(v) comply with the EBB Program’s

document retention requirements and

agree to make such documentation

available to the Commission or USAC,

upon request or any entities (for

example, auditors) operating on their

behalf; and

(vi) agree to the Commission’s

enforcement and forfeiture authority.

30. Timing of Approvals. Providers

that have filed an application satisfying

the criteria outlined in the document

will receive expedited review. The

Commission declines to adopt a deemed

granted date or other specific

application review deadlines for the

expedited review process. Providers

submitting applications by the priority

application deadline will receive a

determination prior to the start of the

EBB Program. Accordingly, the

Commission believes specific

application review deadlines are

unnecessary. The Commission delegates

to the WCB the authority to create and

administer an application review

process that will expeditiously consider

provider applications meeting the

criteria described in the document.

Additionally, all approved providers

must file an election with USAC to

participate in the EBB Program.

31. Conditions and Requirements for

Participating Providers. The

Commission finds there is authority

within the CAA to require participating

providers to offer the EBB Program

benefit throughout the provider’s

approved service area. Additionally, the

Commission finds that use of existing

USAC databases is the most efficient

way to begin the program quickly while

ensuring adequate safeguards to prevent

waste, fraud, and abuse. Accordingly,

the Commission authorizes USAC to

make available the appropriate

databases to administer the EBB

Program including the National Verifier,

NLAD, RAD, and LCS. The Commission

directs USAC to take the appropriate

actions to update, modify, or create the

necessary USAC systems to administer

the EBB Program in line with the

Commission’s direction in the RO. The

Commission further delegates authority

to the WCB and the Office of Managing

Director () to supervise and coordinate

with USAC all actions necessary to

make USAC databases and systems

available for the EBB Program.

32. Public Interest Conditions of

Approvals. The Commission adopts its

proposal to require providers to offer the

EBB Program discount on at least one

service offering across all of its

approved service areas in each of the

states in which it is approved to

participate. The Commission finds that

such an approach is consistent with the

CAA’s requirements regarding the

establishment of the EBB Program to

reimburse providers for discounts

provided to subscribers and supports

the public interest in ensuring

subscribers have access to the EBB

Program. Further, the CAA grants the

authority to the Commission to

determine whether a provider meets the

requirements to participate in the EBB

Program. The Commission agrees with

commenters that providers should not

have to extend service offerings into

areas where they currently do not exist

and should not be mandated to offer a

certain quality of service for the reasons

further explained in the following.

Requiring providers to expand or

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otherwise deploy service offerings or

existing programs into areas where they

currently do not exist increases provider

burdens and delays implementation for

providers seeking to quickly offer EBB

Program services. Approved providers

must offer at least one EBB Program-

reimbursed service to each of its eligible

households within its service area.

However, the Commission also

encourages participating providers to

make EBB Program support available for

all its service offerings for eligible

households. Additionally, pursuant to

the CAA, participating providers must

not deny an eligible household the

ability to participate in the EBB Program

based on any past or present arrearages

with that provider, may not require an

eligible household to pay an early

termination fee if the household enters

into a contract for its EBB Program-

supported service and later terminates

that contract, and may not subject EBB

Program-supported service to a

mandatory waiting period based on a

household having previously received

service from that provider.

33. Notice to Consumers. Providers

also play an important role in ensuring

that their customers are informed about

the EBB Program at the point of

application and enrollment. Providers

will have a direct relationship with their

customers, and as such, have a

responsibility to ensure that these

customers have the information they

need to make an informed decision

about the broadband service product

they subscribe to supported by the EBB

Program. Accordingly, the Commission

requires participating providers to

collect and retain documentation

demonstrating that, prior to enrolling an

existing subscriber in the EBB Program,

the provider clearly disclosed to the

household that the EBB Program is a

government program that reduces the

customer’s broadband internet access

service bill, is temporary in nature, that

the household will be subject to the

provider’s undiscounted rates and

general terms and conditions at the end

of the program if they continue to

receive service, that the household may

obtain broadband service supported by

the EBB Program from any participating

provider of their choosing, and that the

household may transfer their EBB

Program benefit to another provider at

any time. The provider must also retain

documentation demonstrating that,

having received such disclosures, the

household provided affirmative consent

to applying their EBB Program benefit to

the service received from the EBB

Program provider. The Commission

believes that this disclosure and consent

process will help ensure that low-

income households are aware of their

choices in the EBB Program without

creating overly burdensome application

requirements for those households.

34. Use of the National Verifier,

NLAD, RAD and other USAC databases.

The Commission finds that, consistent

with the CAA’s provision allowing the

Commission to use USAC’s systems and

services to implement the EBB Program,

participating providers will be required

to use certain USAC systems, such as

the Lifeline NLAD and RAD, for

program administration and will be

permitted to use the National Verifier to

determine household eligibility. The

Commission adopts its proposal to rely

on the USAC-administered National

Verifier, NLAD, RAD, LCS, and other

established processes for the EBB

Program, including the provider

reimbursement process, call centers for

program support, provider and

consumer outreach, and conducting

program integrity reviews. Accordingly,

the Commission adopts the applicable

part 54 rules that currently govern

Lifeline provider interactions with these

USAC systems. Specifically, the

Commission applies the requirements of

§ 54.400(i) and (o) of the Commission’s

rules defining the NLAD and National

Verifier; § 54.404 of the Commission’s

rules outlining carrier interactions with

the NLAD; § 54.406 of the Commission’s

rules outlining enrollment agent

activities and requiring registration with

the RAD; § 54.410 of the Commission’s

rules where appropriate in requiring the

use of the National Verifier for

eligibility determinations; and § 54.419

of the Commission’s rules allowing the

use of electronic signatures. The

Commission directs the WCB, and

USAC as directed by the WCB, to issue

any further guidance or instruction

necessary to clarify the obligations of

EBB Program providers when using

USAC databases and the administrative

process established for the EBB

Program.

35. Safe harbor for participating

providers. The CAA provides a safe

harbor provision stating that the

Commission may not enforce a violation

of the CAA using sections 501, 502, or

503 of the Communications Act, or any

rules of the Commission promulgated

under such sections, if a participating

provider demonstrates that it relied in

good faith on information provided to

such provider to make any verification

required by subsection 904(b)(2) of the

CAA. Section 904(b)(2) of the CAA

imposes a duty on participating

providers to verify whether a household

is eligible to receive the service and

connected devices supported by the

EBB Program. The Commission

establishes that this safe harbor will

apply to providers who utilize the

National Verifier for eligibility

determinations or any alternative

eligibility verification process that has

received approval from the Commission

consistent with the RO. The safe harbor

applies to providers who act in ‘‘good

faith’’ with respect to these eligibility

verification processes. The Commission

has extensive experience in evaluating

good faith actions of regulated entities

in both negotiation and cost

reimbursement. In line with this

experience, this safe harbor applies to

participating providers for eligibility

determinations who act in good faith

based on information provided to them

in the household eligibility and

enrollment process. Good faith will be

determined on the totality of

circumstances surrounding the

participating providers actions or

statements. Participating providers that

reasonably rely upon the documentation

regarding eligibility determinations

provided by eligible households or

eligibility determinations from the

National Verifier will be able to avail

themselves of this statutory safe harbor

for purposes of their compliance with

the EBB Program rules.

36. Application and Election

Procedures. A provider application to

participate in the EBB Program will

provide information used to determine

whether the applicant has the legal and

technical qualifications to participate in

the EBB Program. An applicant must

certify, under penalty of perjury, its

qualifications. Non-ETC providers must

certify under penalty of perjury that the

information set forth in their application

is true, accurate, and complete; they

understand and will comply with all

statutory and regulatory obligations

described within the RO; and all terms

and conditions and other requirements

applicable to using the National

Verifier, NLAD, RAD, and other USAC

systems. Providing materially false

information in the application will

disqualify a provider from participation

in the EBB Program. Eligibility to

participate in the EBB Program is based

on an applicant’s submission of

required information and certifications.

A potential applicant must take

seriously its compliance duties and

responsibilities and carefully determine

before filing an application that it is able

to meet the obligations associated with

EBB Program support. An applicant’s

filing and subsequent approval does not

guarantee the applicant will receive EBB

Program reimbursement. Each

participating provider must file all

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required forms, information, and

certifications with the Commission and

USAC to receive reimbursement.

37. A non-ETC provider seeking to

participate in the EBB Program must file

the appropriate application, whether it

is eligible for expedited or automatic

approval, electronically, whether filing

for automated or expedited approval,

through the process announced by the

WCB following the adoption of the RO.

An applicant provider bears full

responsibility for submitting an

accurate, complete, and timely

application, and should thoroughly

review the EBB Program participating

provider requirements, in addition to

any subsequent guidance, to ensure all

required information is included in its

application. An applicant provider

should be cognizant that submitting an

application (and any amendments

thereto) constitutes a representation by

the certifying official that he or she is an

authorized representative of the

applicant, that he or she has read the

appropriate instructions and

certifications, and that the contents of

the application, its certifications, and

any attachments are true and correct.

Submitting a false certification to the

Commission may result in penalties,

including monetary forfeitures, license

forfeitures, and ineligibility to

participate in future Commission

auctions or competitions, as well as

criminal prosecution and/or liability

under the False Claims Act.

38. Household Eligibility—Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program Eligible

Households. The CAA directs that a

household will qualify for the EBB

Program if at least one member of the

household: (1) Meets the qualifications

for participation in the Lifeline program;

(2) has applied for and been approved

to receive benefits under the free and

reduced price lunch program under the

Richard B. Russell National School

Lunch Act or the school breakfast

program under section 4 of the Child

Nutrition Act of 1966; (3) has

experienced a substantial loss of income

since February 29, 2020 that is

documented by layoff or furlough

notice, application for unemployment

insurance benefits, or similar

documentation or that is otherwise

verifiable through the National Verifier

or the NLAD; (4) has received a Federal

Pell Grant under section 401 of the

Higher Education Act of 1965 in the

current award year; or (5) meets the

eligibility criteria for a participating

provider’s existing low-income or

COVID–19 program, subject to approval

by the Commission and any other

requirements deemed by the

Commission to be necessary in the

public interest. A household is eligible

for the EBB Program regardless of

whether any member of the household

already receives a Lifeline benefit.

Further, a household is eligible for the

EBB Program ‘‘regardless of whether any

member of the household has any past

or present arrearages with a broadband

provider.’’

39. While the CAA provides a

definition for ‘‘eligible household,’’ it

does not define ‘‘household’’ itself, and

the Public Notice, DA 21–6, sought

comment on using the definition of

‘‘household’’ provided in [the] Lifeline

rules for purposes of administering the

EBB Program. The Lifeline rules define

‘‘household’’ as:

any individual or group of individuals who

are living together at the same address as one

economic unit. A household may include

related and unrelated persons. An ‘‘economic

unit’’ consists of all adult individuals

contributing to and sharing in the income

and expenses of a household. An adult is any

person eighteen years or older. If an adult has

no or minimal income, and lives with

someone who provides financial support to

him/her, both people shall be considered part

of the same household. Children under the

age of eighteen living with their parents or

guardians are considered to be part of the

same household as their parents or

guardians.

The record contains broad consensus

supporting the proposal to use Lifeline’s

definition of household, and the

Commission adopts this proposal. Other

commenters agreed, generally, without

reference to the Lifeline definition, that

multiple people should be able to

receive the EBB Program benefit at a

single address, so long as the people

were part of different households,

similar to Lifeline’s definition of a

household. Some commenters disagree

with the Commission proposal to permit

one benefit per household, noting that

often times households will have

multiple people requiring access to

quality broadband and devices, and

each may need a benefit even though

they are part of the same household.

While the Commission is cognizant of

the varying needs of households, it read

the CAA to allow only a single benefit

per household. As a result, the

Commission will use the Lifeline

program’s definition of household and

limit to each economic unit a single

monthly Emergency Broadband Benefit

and single connected device

reimbursement. To help applicants

determine if there is more than one

household at an address, the

Commission made available for the EBB

Program a Household Worksheet to

confirm whether an applicant is part of

an independent economic household

from other existing EBB Program

subscribers. For providers conducting

eligibility determinations pursuant to an

approved alternative verification

process, the Commission requires that

such processes include measures to

confirm that a household, under the

definition the Commission adopts

within, is not receiving more than one

EBB Program benefit. The Commission

also directs USAC to conduct periodic

program integrity reviews to confirm

that EBB Program subscribers located at

the same address are in compliance

with these requirements.

40. Commenters also argue the EBB

Program should support broadband

provided to multiple dwelling units at

a single address, such as senior and

student living, mobile home parks,

apartment buildings, and Federal

housing units, that receive service as

part of a bulk billing arrangement where

the households ‘‘are not directly billed

for services by their internet service

provider, but instead pay a monthly fee

for broadband services to their

landlord.’’ Similarly, there may be

‘‘entities such as school districts, health

care providers, assisted living or nursing

facilities, and local governments who

purchase service ‘in bulk’ for eligible

households.’’ The Commission

concludes on balance to make available

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

available in these arrangements as long

as the provider is approved in the EBB

Program and the household is eligible

under the statute. These eligible

households are otherwise at risk of

missing out on broadband services

supported by the EBB Program because

they may not be directly billed by the

participating provider and may not have

a typical relationship with the

participating provider. As a result, the

Commission believes that including

support in the EBB Program for these

eligible households will increase the

number of struggling households that

are able to benefit from the EBB

Program. In situations where the

support is passed through as a discount

off of the monthly price paid by the

eligible household, the eligible

household must provide consent to the

bulk purchaser/aggregator or

participating provider to apply their

EBB Program benefit to that service, and

the participating provider must retain

documentation of such consent. The

participating provider claiming

reimbursement for the service provided

under the bulk arrangement must retain

documentation demonstrating that the

amount claimed by the provider from

the EBB Program is fully passed through

to the eligible household as a discount

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off of the monthly price that the eligible

household otherwise would have paid

directly to the bulk purchaser. To

ensure compliance with these

requirements, the Commission requires

participating providers offering service

through such bulk billing arrangements

to retain documentation demonstrating

the identity of the entity or entities

through which the discount was passed

and the eligible households who

received the subsidized service. As an

example, if a bulk purchaser typically

provides eligible households broadband

service for $30 a month, each eligible

household that receives such service

must provide consent to the bulk

purchaser or participating provider that

the participating provider can seek

reimbursement from the EBB Program

for the $30 a month service. The

participating provider would need to

retain documentation of such consent,

as well as documentation that the $30

that the participating provider is seeking

reimbursement for will be fully passed

through to the eligible household. As a

result of the discount, the bulk

purchaser would be paying $30 less to

the participating provider, and the

eligible household would be receiving

free broadband service and not paying

anything to the bulk purchaser. In cases

where the household does not pay a fee

for the service, either to the provider or

a bulk purchaser/aggregator, but the fee

is paid by another entity, the service

cannot be claimed for EBB Program

support.

41. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

sought comment on whether there

should be a limitation on the number of

benefits per address regardless of the

number of households. The Commission

concludes that the Commission will not

impose any limitations inconsistent

with the Lifeline definition of a

‘‘household.’’ The Commission also

sought comments on whether additional

enrollments at a single address require

a separate, more rigorous verification

process. Some commenters cautioned

against using a separate process, and the

Commission finds that the Household

Worksheet as used in Lifeline will help

protect against duplicate benefits, while

not being overly burdensome to

applicants. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

also sought comment on whether an

applicant should certify that no other

person in the economic household is

receiving a benefit. The Commission

finds that the Household Worksheet

requires an applicant to confirm their

understanding of the one-per-household

rule and that the person will lose their

benefit if they break the rule, and the

Commission will not need any further

certification from an EBB Program

subscriber regarding more than one

benefit at a household. The Commission

further directs USAC to apply its

existing periodic Lifeline program

integrity reviews for addresses with an

unusually high number of subscribers to

addresses enrolled in the EBB Program

as well.

42. The WCB also sought comment on

whether the EBB Program should adopt

the same NLAD processes used for

Lifeline. After consideration of the

record, the Commission concludes that

the Commission should use the NLAD

for a variety of functions for the EBB

Program. The CAA, for example,

contemplates the use of the NLAD by

participating providers for purposes of

determining whether a household is an

eligible household. The Public Notice,

DA 21–6, sought comment on a proposal

to require all participating providers to

track enrollments of eligible households

in the EBB Program in the NLAD to

prevent duplicative support. There was

broad support in the record supporting

the proposal, and the Commission

adopts it. Further, the Commission finds

that all providers, including those that

use an approved alternative verification

process or verify eligibility via a school

as discussed in the following, must

enroll their subscribers in the NLAD

prior to claiming reimbursement for

those subscribers, to prevent duplicative

support between providers.

43. Finally, the Commission observes

that households are eligible to

participate in both the EBB Program and

the Lifeline program, either on the same

or different services, and the

Commission directs USAC to enable the

NLAD to allow an eligible household to

have separate subscriber IDs for the EBB

Program and Lifeline and to associate

such subscriber IDs with a respective

Lifeline provider or Emergency

Broadband Benefit provider, as

applicable. If a household is enrolled

only in the Lifeline program, then it will

only have a Lifeline subscriber ID and

be associated with a Lifeline provider. If

a household is enrolled only in the EBB

Program, then it will only have an EBB

Program subscriber ID and be associated

with an EBB Program provider. If a

household is enrolled in both the

Lifeline program and the EBB program,

then it will have separate Lifeline and

EBB Program subscriber IDs, and each of

those subscriber IDs will be associated

with their respective Lifeline or EBB

Program provider (in some cases, a

household may choose the same

provider for both the Lifeline program

and the EBB Program).

44. National Verifier and NLAD

Eligibility Determination. The CAA

provides that participating providers

can use one of three methods to verify

eligibility for the EBB Program. In the

following, the Commission discusses

the first method of verification, use of

the National Verifier and NLAD. The

CAA allows a participating provider to

use the National Verifier and NLAD to

confirm applicants’ eligibility. The

Commission finds that allowing

participating providers to use the

National Verifier will help to stand up

the EBB Program quickly and provide

administrative efficiency, while also

serving as an effective tool to prevent

waste, fraud, and abuse. The

Commission directs USAC to make

available an EBB Program consumer

portal and application form leveraging

the existing National Verifier

infrastructure. Commenters also

requested that the Commission enables

a service provider portal or eligibility

check application programming

interface (API) so that providers can

help consumers with the application

process. The Commission agrees that

these additional application methods

would enable providers to help enroll

consumers, and the Commission directs

USAC to make available these other

application methods as well if feasible

within the overall timeframe of the EBB

Program.

45. Generally, the National Verifier is

a system of systems, with computer

connections to state and Federal

eligibility databases that can

automatically check and confirm a

household’s eligibility electronically,

followed by manual review of eligibility

documentation for any applicants

whose eligibility cannot be verified

using an automated data source. To

assist those participating providers that

want the National Verifier to be a one-

stop shop for determining eligibility for

the EBB Program and do not to conduct

their own verification processes, the

Commission directs USAC to enable the

National Verifier to verify three

additional eligibility bases that are

required by the CAA for the EBB

Program: (1) Participation in free and

reduced lunch program under the

Richard B. Russell National School

Lunch Act or the school breakfast

program under section 4 of the Child

Nutrition Act; (2) a substantial loss of

income since February 29, 2020; and (3)

receipt of a Federal Pell Grant under

section 401 of the Higher Education Act

of 1965 in the current award year. The

CAA contemplates substantial loss of

income and Federal Pell Grant

participation would be verified by the

National Verifier where possible, and

commenters agreed with adding those

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eligibility bases to the National Verifier.

Commenters also suggested that

participation in school breakfast or

lunch should also be added to the

National Verifier, and the Commission

agrees. Where possible, the Commission

directs USAC to enable database

connections through computer matching

agreements with the respective

government entities for those programs.

Where not possible, the Commission

directs USAC, under the direction of the

WCB, to allow eligible households to

submit documentation so that USAC

can manually process the eligibility

information for inclusion in the

National Verifier. The Commission

delegates authority to the WCB to direct

USAC in these efforts and to provide

any additional interpretations of section

904 necessary for implementing use of

the National Verifier for the EBB

Program. Unless and until such database

connections have been enabled, USAC

will verify program eligibility based on

manual documentation review,

consistent with the guidelines discussed

in the following.

46. Where the National Verifier

cannot verify eligibility through any

automated data sources, the

Commission delegates to the WCB to

direct USAC to establish documentation

criteria for the three added eligibility

programs. While the Consolidated

Appropriations Act identified a few

types of documentation to demonstrate

income loss, such as ‘‘layoff or furlough

notice, application for unemployment

benefits, or similar documentation,’’ the

Commission sought comment on other

types of documentation. Some

commenters argued that other

documentation for substantial loss of

income should be construed broadly, or

that the Commission has kept in mind

the widespread loss of income.

Consistent with the Commission’s

clarification of ‘‘substantial loss of

income since February 29, 2020,’’

discussed in the following, any

documentation must clearly show loss

of a job, including due to a furlough,

that began after February 29, 2020,

however documented, as well as the

household’s annual income for 2020. In

addition, many commenters suggested

acceptable documentation for receipt of

a Pell Grant under section 904(a)(6)(D)

of the CAA, including: (1) Written or

electronic confirmation from a student’s

Institution of Higher Education that the

student has received a Pell Grant for the

current award year; (2) a student’s

official financial aid award letter

documenting the amount of a student’s

Pell Grant award received for the

current year; (3) a copy of a student’s

paid invoice that clearly documents the

student’s receipt of a Pell Grant during

the current award year; and (4) a copy

of a student’s Student Aid Report that

clearly documents the student’s receipt

of a Pell Grant during the current award

year. USAC should consider these

documents when establishing

documentation criteria for receipt of a

Pell Grant.

47. The CAA allows that current

Lifeline enrollees are automatically

eligible for the EBB Program based on

their Lifeline eligibility. Many

commenters suggested that customers

already enrolled in Lifeline should not

have to also apply for the EBB Program.

The Commission finds that current

Lifeline households will not need to

apply for the EBB Program or submit

new eligibility documentation if they

are already enrolled in NLAD. Current

Lifeline enrollees, however, must still

opt-in or affirmatively request

enrollment in the EBB Program. As

explained in the document, providers

must collect and retain documentation

demonstrating that, prior to enrolling an

existing Lifeline household in the EBB

Program, the provider made clear

disclosures regarding the EBB Program

benefit and the consumer’s choices

within the EBB Program, and the

household provided affirmative consent

to applying their Emergency Broadband

Benefit to the service received from the

EBB Program provider.

48. In the Lifeline program, potential

households are required to provide the

last four digits of a Social Security

Number to enroll in National Verifier

and NLAD to verify subscriber identity.

Some commenters, however, argue that

the CAA does not require a Social

Security Number for enrollment in the

EBB Program, and that if the

Commission imposes a Social Security

Number requirement, many of the

neediest households may not be able to

enroll because they may not have a

Social Security Number, may have

difficulty accessing data, or fear

providing a Social Security Number.

Commenters suggested alternative forms

of identification instead of a Social

Security Number, such as an Individual

Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN),

Government ID, current utility bill, or

current employment photo

identification badge. While the

Commission permits a consumer to use

the last four digits of a Social Security

Number during enrollment, the

Commission was persuaded that

accepting only a Social Security

Number may prevent eligible

households from enrolling in the EBB

Program. Applicants who choose not to

provide the last four digits of their

Social Security Number or cannot be

verified using a Social Security Number

may verify their identity using a variety

of other types of identity

documentation, including a

government-issued ID, passport, driver’s

license, or Individual Taxpayer

Identification Number documentation.

The Commission directs USAC to work

with the WCB to establish approval

criteria for acceptable identity

documentation. In developing that

criteria, USAC should consider the

methods used to verify identity by

providers with existing low-income

programs.

49. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

proposed that eligible households will

be required to interact directly with

National Verifier as is currently required

for the Lifeline benefit, and many

commenters supported this proposal.

The Commission adopts this proposal

and will require households to interact

directly with National Verifier. Some

commenters suggested that the

Commission permit service providers to

submit verification requests through the

National Verifier on behalf of

households even if the households

consumers are not physically present

with the service provider, while others

were concerned that consumers may not

be able to access National Verifier as

they do not have broadband access, and

places such as libraries or community

centers that typically offer broadband

access are closed or operating in a

limited capacity due to the pandemic.

Although allowing service providers to

remotely submit information on behalf

of consumers may benefit some

consumers, the Commission finds that

the risk to program integrity and

potential for waste, fraud, and abuse

outweighs the benefit. Further,

households that do not have internet

access to apply electronically through

the National Verifier may still apply for

the EBB Program using a paper

application. In addition, verification

through the National Verifier is not the

only way for households to get verified

in the EBB Program, as service providers

may have their own approved

alternative verification processes to

enroll households, while other

households may be qualified by a

provider through verification with a

school. Given these alternatives, the

Commission thought that permitting

providers to sign up consumers

remotely was necessary.

50. The CAA permits households with

members who qualify for free and

reduced-price school lunch or the

school breakfast program to enroll in the

EBB Program. As a result, the

Commission permits qualifying

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households to apply for the EBB

Program and will have USAC enable the

National Verifier to approve the

household based on participation in free

and reduced lunch program or the

school breakfast program. In the Public

Notice, DA 21–6, the WCB sought

comment on the reduced or free school

breakfast or lunch eligibility from

section 904(a)(6)(B) of the CAA and how

to treat households with students

enrolled in the EBB Program in schools

or school districts that participate in the

USDA Community Eligibility Provision.

Participation in the Community

Eligibility Provision allows the nation’s

highest-poverty schools and school

districts to serve breakfast and lunch at

no cost to all enrolled students without

needing to collect individual household

applications. Thus, households with a

student enrolled in a school or school

district participating in the Community

Eligibility Provision will not have

‘‘applied for and been approved to

receive’’ school lunch or breakfast

programs but are still beneficiaries of

these programs. Many commenters

support that households with children

enrolled in largely low-income schools

or school districts that participate in the

Community Eligibility Provision should

be eligible for the emergency broadband

benefit under section 904(a)(6)(B) of the

CAA despite not individually applying

for assistance. The Commission agrees

with these commenters.

51. Some commenters argue that

accepting participation in the

Community Eligibility Provision would

be overinclusive. On balance, the

Commission finds that the risk of

including otherwise ineligible

households is outweighed by the

importance of making the EBB Program

accessible and removing barriers to

participation. Indeed, because the

schools that participate in the

Community Eligibility Provision are the

among the highest-poverty schools in

the nation, the Commission believes

that including households with students

that attend those schools efficiently

targets low-income households and

excluding such schools would

counterintuitively effectively remove

the National School Lunch Program as

a qualifying program for households in

largely low-income schools and school

districts. The Commission also

recognizes that allowing use of the

Community Eligibility Provision as a

qualifying program limits disclosure to

less sensitive information of

households. While the CAA does not

provide a specific time frame for when

the member of the household should

have been approved for benefits under

the free and reduced price lunch or

breakfast programs, the California

Emerging Technology Fund proposed

that the Commission should allow proof

of enrollment in these programs for

either the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021

school year, given that many schools

have been closed since mid-March 2020

due to the pandemic and students may

not be enrolled in the programs in the

current school year. The Commission

agrees with this proposal. The

Commission therefore accepts for

eligibility determination purposes a

household’s confirmation that the

household has dependent children who

participated or are participating in the

Community Eligibility Provision school

breakfast or free and reduced-price

school lunch program in the 2019–2020

or 2020–2021 school year. The

Commission directs USAC to develop a

process for such eligibility

determinations that has the capability

to, after a household provides the name

of a dependent child’s school,

automatically check for CEP

participation against the nationwide

lists maintained by U.S. Department of

Agriculture and/or the Food Research &

Action Center. The Commission also

directs USAC to conduct program

integrity reviews of a sample of

households who enrolled in the EBB

Program using this eligibility criteria to

confirm EBB Program compliance.

52. The Public Notice, DA 21–6, also

sought comment on whether a school’s

participation in the E-Rate program

would facilitate any needed verification.

The Commission receives some

comments supporting the idea that a

school participating in E-Rate should be

sufficient to confirm household

eligibility for its students’ households.

However, schools can participate in E-

Rate even if less than 1% of its students

are eligible for the National School

Lunch Program. As such, the

Commission did not find that a school’s

participation in E-Rate alone would

provide any help as to the eligibility of

households that have students enrolled

in that school, and the Commission

declines to use participation in E-Rate

as a basis of eligibility for qualifying for

school lunch or breakfast.

53. Households with members who

have experienced a substantial loss of

income are also qualified to enroll in the

EBB Program according to the CAA. The

WCB sought comment on how to define

a ‘‘substantial loss of income since

February 29, 2020’’ in section

904(a)(6)(C) of the CAA, and whether

households with an income above a

certain level should be excluded from

the EBB Program. Although the

Commission receives comments that the

Commission should clearly define

‘‘substantial loss of income,’’ only a few

commenters provided criteria for the

Commission to consider. Consistent

with the requirements of the CAA, the

Commission clarifies that a ‘‘substantial

loss of income’’ includes the loss of a

job, including a furlough, that is

documented by a layoff or furlough

notice, application for unemployment

insurance benefits, or similar

documentation. The Commission

permits households with such members

to enroll in the EBB Program through

the National Verifier. To target

eligibility to households most in need,

the Commission agrees with

commenters that the Commission

imposes a household income limitation,

and consistent with the criteria

established by the Centers for Disease

Control to halt evictions, a household

that has suffered a job loss must not

have had an income in 2020 greater than

$99,000 for single-filers and $198,000

for joint filers to be eligible for the EBB

Program.

54. The CAA also permits eligibility

into the EBB Program if a member of a

household has received a Federal Pell

Grant under Section 401 of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 in the current

award year. Commenters supported and

welcomed the inclusion of receipt a Pell

Grant as an eligibility basis for the EBB

Program. USTelecom has asked for

clarification on what constitutes a

household for purposes of a Pell Grant,

given that students that are awarded

Pell Grants are typically living away

from parents, yet that student may be

dependent on parental support. The

Commission clarifies that consistent

with the EBB Program’s adoption of the

Lifeline definition of ‘‘household,’’

people are part of the same household

if they share income and expenses and

live at the same address. If the recipient

of a Pell Grant lives at a separate

address from the recipient’s parents, the

recipient and the family are separate

households, and only the recipient of

the Pell Grant would be eligible for the

EBB Program using Pell Grant

eligibility.

55. The CAA also allows into the EBB

Program a household where at least one

member meets the eligibility criteria for

a participating provider’s existing low-

income or COVID–19 program. For

eligibility under this provision,

commenters suggested that providers

should be able to continue to operate

the EBB Program with the existing

eligibility requirements. Although this

provision of the CAA suggests the

Commission could impose other

eligibility requirements on these

existing programs that the Commission

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considers necessary for the public

interest, given the emergency nature of

the EBB Program, the Commission

declines to modify the programmatic or

income eligibility requirements of any

provider’s existing low-income or

COVID–19 program for purposes of

eligibility in the EBB Program. Some

commenters suggested that the

Commission work with providers to set

a baseline eligibility for the provider’s

existing low-income or COVID–19

program. The Commission similarly

believes imposing baseline criteria on

all existing low-income or COVID–19

programs would be disruptive to those

programs and cause undue burden on

the providers at a time when it is

essential those programs continue to

operate efficiently. Finally, consistent

with the CAA’s allowance that a

broadband provider that had an

established a low-income or COVID–19

program as of April 1, 2020 shall be

automatically approved as a

participating provider, and to ensure

that such eligibility determinations are

made pursuant to well-established

verification mechanisms, the

Commission finds that a participating

provider’s existing low-income or

COVID–19 program must have been

available as of April 1, 2020, and any

eligibility criteria for such programs

must have been established as of April

1, 2020, for use of that program as a

qualifying program under section

904(a)(6)(E) of the CAA.

56. Some commenters suggested that

although the Commission does not

allow Lifeline applicants to self-certify,

the Commission should allow EBB

Program applicants to self-certify given

the emergency nature of the EBB

Program. While the Commission

recognizes that self-certification could

in some circumstances lessen the

burden on some households, the

Commission declines to allow self-

certification. Self-certification presents a

sizable risk of waste fraud and abuse in

the EBB Program. Further, the

Commission finds the CAA

contemplates documentation and

verification to confirm eligibility and

permitting a household to enroll in the

EBB Program while only self-certifying

to eligibility would run contrary to these

statutory requirements. And given the

many bases of eligibility through which

a household is able to enroll in the EBB

Program and different avenues for

verification, the Commission finds that

these ample opportunities make self-

certification far less urgent.

57. Participating Provider Alternative

Verification Process. The CAA also

allows a participating provider to ‘‘rely

upon an alternative verification process

of the participating provider,’’ subject to

certain conditions. As set out by the

CAA, the ‘‘participating provider

submits information as required by the

Commission regarding the alternative

verification process prior to seeking

reimbursement,’’ and the Commission

has seven days after receipt of the

information to notify the participating

provider if the participating provider’s

‘‘alternative verification process will be

sufficient to avoid waste, fraud, and

abuse.’’

58. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

sought comment on what information

should be provided to the Commission

concerning the alternative verification

process, and the criteria the

Commission should consider in

determining whether a provider’s

alternative verification process is

sufficient to avoid waste, fraud, and

abuse. Some commenters suggested that

the Commission create a model

‘‘alternative verification process’’ for

participating providers to choose, while

others suggested that the Commission

automatically approve the verification

processes for providers that have low-

income programs that are not provided

with government assistance and instead

subsidized by the provider, as those

providers already have strong incentives

to ensure that only qualified customers

take advantage of those programs. Other

commenters proposed that local

governments may act as the alternative

verification process for providers. The

Navajo Nation Telecommunications

Regulatory Commission suggested that

the Commission should work with

providers who have worked in Indian

Country to get their input as to

verification, given the challenge that

Lifeline has in verifying consumers in

Indian Country. The Commission also

received comments that any alternative

verification process should be allowed

to have different household eligibility

definitions, but the Commission finds

that it cannot expand eligibility beyond

what the Consolidated Appropriations

Act authorizes. The Commission notes,

however, that under section 904(a)(6)(E)

of the CAA, a broadband provider’s

eligibility criteria for their existing low-

income or COVID–19 program may

provide eligibility bases other than

those explicitly listed in sections

904(a)(6)(A)–(D) of the CAA.

59. Regardless of how a provider

seeks or receives authorization to

participate in the EBB Program (as an

ETC, as a non-ETC with expedited

approval, or as a non-ETC with

automatic approval), a provider must

submit and receive WCB approval of its

alternative verification process prior to

using such a process to enroll

consumers in the EBB Program. The

Public Notice, DA 21–6, proposes that

the Commission delegates to the WCB

authority to review and approve (or

deny) alternative verification processes,

and the Commission adopts this

proposal. The Commission directs the

WCB to develop a process for

submitting proposed alternative

verification processes and to review and

approve or reject such submissions

within the seven days required by the

CAA. For ETCs, the Commission directs

such providers to submit to the WCB

requests for approval describing their

alternative verification process after

submitting their notice of election to

USAC. The ETC’s request for approval

of its alternative verification process

must still go through the approval

process required by section 904(b)(2)(B)

of the CAA and be approved by the

WCB before the ETC can begin

providing EBB Program service. For

providers seeking a non-ETC approval

from the WCB, the Commission directed

such providers to submit requests for

approval describing their alternative

verification process along with their

application to participate in the EBB

Program, where possible. Although the

provider application to participate may

be granted automatically if the provider

qualifies for such a grant, the provider’s

request for approval of its alternative

verification process must still go

through the approval process required

by section 904(b)(2)(B) of the CAA and

be approved by the WCB before the

provider can begin providing EBB

Program service.

60. The Commission also agrees with

commenters that non-ETCs that are

automatically approved as a

participating provider based on having

an established low-income or COVID–19

program as of April 1, 2020 pursuant to

section 904(d)(2)(B) of the CAA should

also have the alternative verification

processes for those programs

automatically approved. The CAA not

only provides an automatic approval for

such providers but also deems as

eligible for the EBB Program households

with at least one member that meets the

eligibility criteria for a participating

provider’s existing low-income or

COVID–19 program. The Commission

finds Congress’ heavy reliance on these

existing aid programs instructive. The

Commission is persuaded that such

providers have strong incentives to

ensure that only qualified customers

take advantage of a provider’s own low-

income or COVID–19 program, as these

programs are currently subsidized by

the provider. Any such automatically

approved provider must still submit a

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description of their alternative

verification process to the WCB.

61. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

proposed to allow alternative

verification methods that are at least as

stringent as methods used by the

National Verifier, and the Commission

received comment agreeing with this

proposal. To be at least as stringent as

the National Verifier, information

collected by participating providers in

the alternative verification process

should at least include the applicant’s:

(1) Full name, (2) phone number, (3)

date of birth, (4) email address, (5) home

and mailing addresses, (6) name and

date of birth of the benefit qualifying

person if different than applicant, (7)

basis for inclusion in program (e.g.,

SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, school lunch, Pell

Grant, income, provider’s existing

program, etc.) and documentation

supporting verification of eligibility,

and (8) certifications from the

household that the information

included in the application is true. The

provider must describe the processes it

(or a third-party) uses to verify the

requested preceding information,

including the applicant’s identity and

eligibility, and as required by the CAA,

the provider must explain why the

provider’s alternative process will be

sufficient to avoid waste, fraud, and

abuse. For example, Comcast requires

consumers to submit an application to

obtain proof of identification and

establish eligibility for its internet

Essentials program, which is open to

individuals in a high poverty area or

through participation in a government

assistance program. Comcast cross-

references information from the

application against internal databases

populated with publicly available data

from government sources to confirm

participation in National School Lunch

Program, residence at a public housing

address, or residence in high poverty

area, and if eligibility cannot be verified

through internal databases or based on

participation in a different government

program, Comcast requires

documentation of proof of participation

and the documentation is reviewed by

a vendor. The provider must also

explain how it trains its employees and

agents to prevent ineligible enrollments,

including enrollments based on

fabricated documents. If the alternative

verification process fails to include any

of the preceding information in the

document, the provider should explain

why it thinks such information is not

necessary to prevent waste, fraud, and

abuse. If a provider without an

established low-income program seeks

approval of an alternative verification

process, it must explain why it proposes

to use an alternative verification process

instead of the National Verifier

eligibility determinations. The

Commission declines to issue a model

alternative verification process, and the

Commission further declines to approve

any of the other alternative verification

processes submitted by commenters.

62. The Public Notice, DA 21–6, also

sought comment on documentation and

records providers should be required to

keep complying with audit

requirements. Commenters suggested

that the providers should at least collect

and retain documentation of the

applicant’s identity and eligibility

criteria. The Commission requires that

providers keep all documentation

provided to them from the applicant

used to make eligibility determinations,

for as long as the applicant receives the

Emergency Broadband Benefit, and also

for no less than the six full calendar

years following the termination of the

EBB Program. For example, if a

subscriber enrolls in the EBB Program

through participation in the school

breakfast or lunch program or the Pell

Grant, retained documentation should

include the name of the school and

school year for which the subscriber has

claimed eligibility. This requirement is

similar to the document retention

requirement used in the Lifeline

program but is long enough to cover the

statute of limitations under the False

Claims Act laws for Federal wire fraud

and ensures that documentation is

available to confirm program

compliance. Commenters also agree

with the proposal in the Public Notice,

DA 21–6, that providers identify the

alternative verification process used

when enrolling a household in the

NLAD, and the Commission adopts that

proposal. The Commission also directs

USAC to conduct periodic program

integrity reviews to ensure that

subscribers enrolled through a

provider’s alternative verification

process are eligible for the emergency

broadband benefit.

63. School-Based Eligibility

Verification. The CAA also allows a

participating provider to rely on a

school to verify eligibility under the free

and reduced price school lunch or

school breakfast program. The Public

Notice, DA 21–6, proposed that a

provider identify the school it relied on

when enrolling a household in NLAD,

and commenters agreed. The

Commission also sought comment on

what other information a participating

provider should be required to submit

or maintain. Commenters were

concerned about the ability of schools to

provide information about households

and individuals enrolled in the EBB

Program without violating data privacy

and confidentiality laws. The

Commission also received a comment

suggesting that the Commission create a

standard protective order or consent

form that providers can use. One

commenter was also concerned that

there may be significant administrative

burdens and staffing requirements

placed on schools if they are required to

verify students, particularly if schools

have a large number of students that

qualify. One commenter estimated that

it could take a school district 192 hours

a month to process income verification

requests from service providers. The

Commission shares those concerns and

was sympathetic to the burdens this

method could impose on schools,

especially during the pandemic when so

many school administrators and

teachers are struggling with the

challenges of safe, in-person education,

supporting students in need, and

distance learning. The Commission

concludes that, to comply with the

requirements of the CAA, for a

participating provider to rely on

information provided by a school when

enrolling a household in the EBB

Program, the participating provider

must certify in NLAD that it relied on

information provided by a school for

eligibility verification and that it retains

documentation indicating: (1) The

school providing the information, (2)

the program(s) that the school

participates in, (3) the household that

qualifies (and qualifying student(s)), (4)

and the program(s) the household

participates in. The Commission

believes this permits access to the EBB

Program for student households through

the school and also minimizes the

burden on the school, especially in light

of the relevant privacy and consent

requirements. At the same time,

households with students can also

verify eligibility for and enroll in the

EBB Program without relying upon

schools, and will be able to use on any

of the qualifying criteria for eligible

households set forth in the CAA. And

while the Commission declines to create

a standard protective order or consent

form, it recognized that it may be a

beneficial tool for consumers and

providers, and delegate to the WCB the

authority to create such a form if it is

needed for the National Verifier’s

processes.

64. Covered Services and Devices. The

COVID–19 pandemic continues to

challenge Americans’ access to and

reliance on broadband connections as

households try to adapt and ensure that

they have the tools to succeed in their

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everyday tasks, including telework,

telehealth, telemedicine, and virtual

learning. The CAA permits, in the EBB

Program, eligible households to receive

a discount off the cost of broadband

service and certain connected devices,

and participating providers can receive

a reimbursement for such discounts

during the emergency period.

65. Services. In describing the services

eligible for EBB Program support, the

CAA defines ‘‘internet service offering’’

as a broadband internet access service

provided to a household, and defines

‘‘broadband internet access service’’

with the meaning given to that term in

§ 8.1(b) of the Commission’s rules. The

Consolidated Appropriations Act

further requires that an internet service

offering must have a ‘‘standard rate’’ in

order to receive the emergency

broadband benefit, and that standard

rate equals the ‘‘the monthly retail rate

for the applicable tier of broadband

internet access service as of December 1,

2020, excluding any taxes or other

governmental fees.’’ The Commission

interprets this requirement to mean that

an internet service offering eligible for

EBB Program support must have a retail

rate that was on offer as of December 1,

2020 and that, but for the application of

the EBB Program discount, would have

been charged to the customer on a

monthly basis. The Commission

interprets the CAA’s reference to a

‘‘monthly retail rate’’ to exclude

broadband service products that are

priced based primarily on the data

allowance of the product (for example,

a purchase 1 GB of data for $5.00) and

are sold separate from a monthly

recurring service plan). This

requirement also helps to focus limited

funding toward more robust broadband

service offerings to maximize the EBB

Program’s benefits for enrolled

households. Additionally, the

Commission clarifies that the CAA’s

application of the emergency broadband

benefit as a discount off of the monthly

retail rate charged to the subscriber

means that service plans that are already

offered with no fee to the end user—for

example, as a result of Lifeline program

support or other benefit programs—are

not eligible for additional or duplicative

support from the EBB Program. At the

same time, the CAA does permit plans

where the end result is no fee being

assessed on the household after the

application of the monthly benefit.

66. Some parties asked that the

Commission require participating

providers to make the emergency

broadband benefit available on all of

their service offerings. On balance, the

Commission believes that dictating the

required offerings in a temporary

program will discourage participation

and result in less consumer choice than

would otherwise be available if it

provided participating providers with

more flexibility. However, the

Commission notes that participating

providers may apply the emergency

broadband benefit to any of their

eligible offerings, including promotional

offerings that were available as of

December 1, 2020. Specifically,

pursuant to the CAA, participating

providers are required to make available

to eligible households a monthly

discount off the standard rate for an

internet service offering and associated

equipment, up to $50.00 per month. For

households residing on Tribal lands, the

monthly discount may be up to $75.00

per month. Participating providers will

receive reimbursement from the EBB

Program for the discounts provided.

67. The Commission provides further

clarity on the internet service offerings

and associated equipment eligible for

reimbursement. Internet service offering

is defined as ‘‘broadband internet access

service provided by such provider to a

household, offered in the same manner,

and on the same terms, as described in

any of such provider’s offerings for

broadband internet access service to

such household, as on December 1,

2020.’’ Accordingly, providers who

participate in the EBB Program are only

eligible to receive reimbursement for

offerings that were available on and

include the same terms as those

available as of December 1, 2020. The

majority of commenters do not oppose

the service offering date of December 1,

2020, but some commenters explain that

the December 1, 2020 date should not

limit the ability of providers to offer

upgrades on top of such existing service

offerings to consumers. The

Commission agrees and finds that

participating providers may offer free

enhancements of service quality

elements of a discount-eligible internet

service offerings but may not increase

the price charged for that offering. The

Commission believes the December 1,

2020 restriction is best understood as a

method of avoiding arbitrage

opportunities and waste in the EBB

Program by allowing unscrupulous

providers to take advantage of the

increased subsidy available. By referring

to offerings that were available prior to

the enactment of the law, the CAA

prevents participating providers from

increasing prices above the usual market

rate for their services for the purpose of

claiming the maximum reimbursement

amount. Interpreting that restriction to

also restrict the ability of participating

providers to offer free upgrades to the

quality of the broadband services

provided to eligible households,

however, such as speed, data caps, and

other non-price elements, would be

contrary to the law’s purpose of

supporting robust modern broadband

service during an unprecedented

pandemic. The Commission therefore

permits provider offerings that were

available on and include the same terms

as those available as of December 1,

2020 to include free enhancements in

quality with respect to such non-price

elements.

68. Minimum Service Standards. The

Commission declines to apply

minimum service standards to covered

services for the EBB Program. The

Commission finds that qualifying

internet service offerings must include a

broadband connection (as defined in

section 904(a)(9) of the CAA)—fixed or

mobile—that permits households to rely

on these connections for the purposes

essential to participating in society

during the pandemic, such as telework,

remote learning, and telehealth. A

majority of commenters supported this

approach, explaining that broadband

speeds should be sufficient for telework

and distance learning, and discount-

eligible internet service offerings should

feature speeds comparable to those

offered to market-rate customers. The

Commission also recognizes that

Congress did not limit the discount to

lower-cost broadband plans. Consumers

purchasing discounted services under

the EBB Program qualify for the same

protections as those purchasing services

at standard rates. Thus, providers that

offer discounted broadband services

pursuant to the EBB Program rules,

either on a standalone or bundled basis,

must comply with the same consumer-

protection requirements that apply to

the corresponding services that they

offered on or before December 1, 2020.

Thus, providers must disclose accurate

information regarding the performance

characteristics, commercial terms, and

other features of their discounted

broadband services to enable consumers

to make informed choices regarding the

purchase and use of such services.

69. Some commenters also suggested

that participating providers should offer

services that meet the Commission’s

definition of broadband at 25/3 Mbps or

encourage the Commission to require

high-capacity, affordable broadband

service. Given the emergency nature of

the EBB Program and the vital need to

maximize consumer choice and benefits

in a short timeframe, the Commission

was not persuaded by such arguments.

By administering the program within

the definition of ‘‘internet service

offering,’’ and permitting non-ETCs to

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participate, the Commission obviates

the need for lengthy service obligations

and the risk of slow speeds and

maintain consumer choice—allowing

consumers to select offerings that work

best for their household—as well as

permit participating providers to serve

eligible households as quickly as

possible during the emergency period.

The Commission further declines to

apply the Lifeline program’s minimum

service standards to covered services for

the EBB Program. The Commission

recognizes that some commenters

encouraged it to use Lifeline’s minimum

service standards or the Lifeline

program itself as a starting point.

Indeed, the Commission understands

that low-income consumers must have

access to reliable broadband

connections vital for basic education,

health care, remote work, disability

access and public safety, but the CAA

does not indicate Congressional intent

that the Commission applies Lifeline’s

minimum service standards for the EBB

Program. The Commission is supported

in this decision by the measures

adopted that clarify that participation in

the EBB Program does not preclude the

same household from participating in

the Lifeline program or other aid

programs offered at the state and local

level as long as participants meet the

requirements for such programs. Even

though the EBB Program is an

emergency, temporary program, it will

operate concurrently with Universal

Service Fund programs and other

existing programs at the state and local

levels so eligible consumers can choose

a broadband connection that meets their

connectivity needs.

70. The Commission, however,

anticipates that providers that elect to

participate in the EBB Program that are

already designated as ETCs through

their participation in other Universal

Service Fund programs, particularly the

Lifeline program, will draw from that

experience and offer similar or

upgraded broadband services. In the

EBB Program, the Commission

anticipates that existing ETCs will

continue to offer quality and innovative

services, and encouraged other

broadband providers (non-ETCs) to offer

service standards that promote robust

broadband access to vital services.

71. Bundled Service Offerings. The

Commission also recognizes that

participating providers in the EBB

Program may offer qualifying broadband

service combined with other services,

otherwise known as bundled service

offerings (e.g., voice, data, texting,

associated equipment). While the CAA

does not explicitly direct the

Commission regarding how to handle

bundled broadband service offerings,

the Commission finds if such bundled

service options were offered ‘‘in the

same manner, and on the same terms’’

on December 1, 2020, participating

providers should be able to apply the

monthly discount of up to $50 per

month, or up to $75 for Tribal lands, to

the entire bundled service. The

Commission draws this conclusion from

record support that viewed such

offerings as enhancing flexibility

between participating providers and

consumers. Also, the Commission draws

from its experience with the Lifeline

program that participating providers in

the EBB Program, including ETCs that

are already adept at applying such a

discount in the Lifeline program to

bundled services, offer bundled service

offerings to address consumer demands

outside of any Commission regulation.

In contrast to the record support for

permitting EBB Program reimbursement

for broadband bundled services that

include voice and/or text messaging,

there was not similar support for

permitting reimbursement for the full

price of broadband bundled services

that include video service. The

Commission finds that permitting EBB

Program reimbursement for the full

price of a bundle that includes video

service is not contemplated by the

statute and was not necessary to ensure

that consumers in the EBB Program

have robust service choices, and the

Commission therefore does not permit

support for such bundles with video

service.

72. The Commission finds that the

CAA’s requirement that the service

offerings be offered ‘‘in the same

manner’’ as they were on December 1,

2020, authorized the Commission to

support both standalone broadband

service offerings and broadband service

offerings bundled with voice, text

messaging, and/or associated

equipment. For many fixed and mobile

internet service offerings, it is common

to offer broadband service as part of a

bundle without separating out the price

of the broadband component and its

associated equipment. By permitting

participating providers to offer

broadband in those same bundles in the

EBB Program, the Commission permits

providers to make available internet

service offerings ‘‘in the same manner’’

as they were on December 1, 2020.

73. Associated Equipment and Other

Customer Premises Equipment. The

CAA requires participating providers to

make available to eligible households a

monthly discount off the rate for an

internet service offering and associated

equipment, up to $50.00 per month, and

on Tribal lands, the monthly discount

may be up to $75 per month. In the

Public Notice, DA 21–6, the WCB also

sought comment on how to define

associated equipment and whether that

undefined term should include, for

example, the monthly rental costs for

modems and/or routers that are offered

as part and parcel of an internet service

offering. The record overwhelmingly

supported including modems, routers,

and hotspot devices and antennas, if

offered as monthly rental costs or part

and parcel of an internet service offering

as eligible for the EBB Program monthly

discount as of December 1, 2020.

Combined with record support and

recognizing that the CAA does not

specifically define or identify any

associated equipment as it relates to any

particular broadband service, the

Commission finds that associated

equipment includes equipment

necessary for the transmission functions

of internet service offerings supported

through the EBB Program which

households may choose to receive.

Commenters support the Commission’s

conclusion by encouraging the

Commission to define the scope of

eligible associated equipment ‘‘in a

technology-neutral manner’’ to

accommodate household choice and the

different types of broadband networks.

The Commission agrees that a

technology-neutral approach is

appropriate as long as it meets the

requirements of the CAA. However, the

Commission declines to include Wi-Fi

extenders or repeaters as associated

equipment or any other customer

premises equipment that enhances or

extends a broadband signal beyond a

participating provider’s internet service

offering. First, any associated equipment

that enhances or extends a broadband

signal from its existing coverage area as

outlined in the participating provider’s

internet service offering would not be

offered ‘‘in the same manner, and on the

same terms’’ as defined in the CAA.

Second, these types of devices are

typically sold as add-on options to a

broadband connection or sold separately

through major manufacturers and are

therefore not offered as part and parcel

of an internet service offering.

Accordingly, Congress does not clearly

allow the Commission to include these

devices, and if it had intended to do so,

it would have included such devices in

its definition of ‘‘connected devices.’’

The Commission also notes that the

‘‘associated equipment’’ discussed in

this paragraph must be billed monthly

on the same terms and same manner as

it would have been in an offering

available on December 1, 2020. The

price for such associated equipment

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cannot be frontloaded. For example, if a

provider has a $30 monthly service

offering and would have offered a

modem for a monthly rental of $5 for a

total monthly fee of $35, the provider

cannot front-load the monthly rental fee

and charge $20 for four months of a

modem rental in the first month in order

to maximize reimbursement up to the

$50 monthly discount allowed.

74. Connected Devices. The CAA

clearly and narrowly defines a

‘‘connected device’’ eligible for a

separate, one-time reimbursement as ‘‘a

laptop or desktop computer or tablet.’’

In the Public Notice, DA 21–6, the

Commission sought comment on

whether the Commission should

provide any further clarity regarding

connected devices that are eligible for

reimbursement. The CAA does not leave

room for a broad interpretation of

‘‘connected device.’’ Congress explicitly

declined to include mobile phones in its

definition, and thus the Commission

finds that the definition of a tablet does

not include devices that can

independently make cellular calls such

as large phones or phablets.

75. Various commenters urge the

Commission to fund additional end-user

devices outside the scope of the CAA,

including mobile phones (i.e.,

smartphones) and portable Wi-Fi hot

spots arguing that these devices are

capable of supporting video

conferencing platforms and other

software, and limiting such devices

could ‘‘impose more financial burdens

to a student.’’ CTIA, for example,

explained that ‘‘mobile devices from the

4G era or later should qualify as ‘tablets’

under the definition’’ while ‘‘mobile

phones, including feature phones and

smartphones from the 3G era or earlier,

should not qualify as ‘‘tablets.’’ T-

Mobile explained ‘‘that certain mobile

phones that provide similar

functionality as a basic tablet’’ should

be considered a ‘‘connected device.’’

TDI et al. proposed that devices that

enable Video Relay Service or internet

Protocol Captioned Telephone Service

should be eligible for reimbursement.

Conversely, other commenters

supported the exclusion of mobile

phones, with one commenter opposing

the inclusion of tablets, as a connected

device. Common Sense Media, in its

comments, excludes cell phones from

its research-based list of requirements

for a robust learning experience,

explaining that ‘‘students and teachers

need laptops or tablets capable of

meeting the distance learning

requirements of their curriculum.’’ The

record also indicated that, while tablets

are capable of supporting video

conferencing platforms and other

software, commenters expressed caution

that tablets may require more specific

service standards or a broad

interpretation. Taking into

consideration the record, and the

narrow and specific language in the

CAA’s definition of a connected device,

the Commission is unable to expand the

definition of connected device and

concluded that the EBB Program will

provide reimbursement for any

connected device, defined as ‘‘a laptop

or desktop computer or tablet.’’

76. The Commission next clarifies

that participating providers may only

receive a single reimbursement of up to

$100 for one connected device per

household, and the eligible household

must contribute towards the cost of the

connected device at least $10 but no

more than $50. The Public Notice, DA

21–6, sought comment on whether

eligible households should be able to

receive more than one connected device

through the EBB Program, for example,

if the household changes providers. The

Consolidated Appropriations Act

provides that a participating provider

may receive reimbursement for no more

than one connected device per eligible

household, but it is silent as to whether

households may receive the connected

device reimbursement benefit from

more than one provider. Although some

commenters suggested that eligible

households should receive more than

one connected device, the Commission

finds no legal basis to do so. In order to

preserve limited funds, ensure that

benefits reach the greatest number of

eligible households, and avoid wasteful

spending, the Commission finds that

households are limited to a single

connected device during the EBB

Program for which a provider seeks

reimbursement. The Commission takes

this position in order to maintain the

integrity of the EBB Program—ensuring

that reimbursements, and the

subsequent disbursements, for a

connected device are only processed for

valid claims that comply with the CAA.

77. Minimum System Requirements

for Connected Devices. In the Public

Notice, DA 21–6, the WCB sought

comment on whether the Commission

should impose minimum system

requirements for connected devices

supported by the EBB Program. The

Commission adopts its proposal that a

connected device supported by the EBB

Program should be expected to support

video conferencing platforms and other

software essential to ensure full

participation in online learning, should

be Wi-Fi enabled, and have video and

camera functions. The record

overwhelmingly supported that, at a

minimum, connected devices must be

able to support video conferencing and

camera functionality and online

learning software. Recognizing however

that the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic

has compounded challenges for

numerous households to maintain

broadband services, the Commission

finds that setting minimum system

requirements for connected devices

could limit consumer choice and

exacerbate barriers to broadband service

that may have existed prior to COVID–

19. While some commenters suggested

specific standards the Commission

should adopt for connected devices, the

Commission declines to adopt such

standards and instead encourage

participating providers and interested

stakeholders to explore other

opportunities, including partnering with

school districts and state and local

programs that may provide funding or

other avenues for access to end-user

devices and equipment due to the

COVID–19 pandemic. The Commission

also expects that connected devices be

accessible to and usable by people with

disabilities.

78. Benefits for Households on Tribal

Lands. The CAA also provides a

discount up to $75 for internet service

offerings to eligible households on

Tribal Lands. The Commission finds

that it was vital to utilize the EBB

Program in an efficient way to help

provide more households on Tribal

lands with affordable, reliable

connectivity. The Commission adopts

its proposal in the Public Notice, DA

21–6, to use the same definition of

Tribal lands as used in the Lifeline

program, including certain lands near

the Navajo Nation treated as Tribal

lands. The Commission also allows

members of households on Tribal lands

to use their participation in the same

Tribal programs permitted under the

Lifeline program to qualify for the EBB

Program, in addition to other permitted

means of qualifying. The Commission

also adopts its proposal to use the

processes USAC has in place for

identifying the location of a household

residence.

79. Many commenters supported the

Commission’s proposal to use the

Lifeline program’s definition of Tribal

lands as well as existing USAC

processes for verifying eligibility of

households on Tribal lands. The

Commission finds this to be the best and

most efficient approach for households

and participating providers in the EBB

Program because it will continue to help

the Commission quickly address

existing impediments to connectivity on

Tribal lands and allow providers to offer

EBB Program benefits to a wide-range of

households that will, in turn, increase

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the number of subscribers of broadband

internet access service. The Commission

therefore declines to use any other

definitions suggested by commenters

that would expand upon the established

definitions in the Commission Lifeline

rules and would accordingly prevent

USAC from using the existing Lifeline

informational tools to identify whether

an applicant resides on Tribal lands.

80. With respect to other

accommodations to ensure eligible

households on Tribal lands are able to

participate in the EBB Program, some

commenters encouraged a flexible

approach that would use additional

methods other than USAC databases

(i.e., National Verifier, NLAD) to verify

addresses. The Commission disagrees

with such an approach and finds that

USAC’s databases, especially its

mapping tool in the National Verifier,

offered a sufficiently comprehensive

process for identifying residences on

Tribal lands for the EBB Program.

Additionally, USAC provides multiple

other methods for applicants and

providers to submit residential location

data to confirm whether an applicant

resides on Tribal lands. Expanding or

otherwise modifying the USAC systems

to accommodate new methods would

also require additional time. To

facilitate timely and efficient processing

of participating providers and eligible

households on Tribal lands, the

Commission finds the benefits of using

USAC’s existing mapping tool and other

address verification methods far

outweighs commenters’ concerns to this

action and also eliminates time-

consuming or wasteful administrative

processes. The Commission directs

USAC to make available its existing

comprehensive address verification

methods to applicants and providers in

the EBB Program, including providers

using their own alternative verification

process pursuant to the CAA.

81. Budget and Reimbursement—

Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund and Reimbursement for the

Emergency Broadband Benefit. The EBB

Program is funded through the $3.2

billion Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund in the CAA, and

does not rely on contributions to the

Universal Service Fund. The CAA

further provides that no more than 2%

of the Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund (Fund) or $64

million is to be used for the

administration of the EBB Program, and

funding for the EBB Program will

remain available until the Fund is

expended or six months after the end of

the Emergency Period as defined in the

CAA, whichever comes first. The

Commission recognizes that while

Congress allocated that a portion of the

Fund be used for the administration of

the EBB Program, the primary purpose

of the Fund is to provide support for the

households enrolled in the program. To

that end, the Commission directs USAC,

in coordination with the OMD, to re-

evaluate no later than three months after

the start of the EBB Program to

determine if there are any of its

administrative funds that can be used to

fund reimbursements for service and

connected device claims. Moreover, the

Commission directs USAC to continue

to regularly report to the OMD its

projected budget for its administration

of the EBB Program. Based on USAC’s

initial estimates provided to the OMD,

USAC’s EBB Program administrative

costs will be under the 2 percent cap,

which includes costs associated with

business process outsourcing, project

management, IT professional fees, and

call center activities. Pursuant to the

terms of the Memorandum of

Understanding between USAC and the

Commission, USAC and the

Commission will not incur

administrative costs beyond the $64

million cap.

82. The emergency nature of the EBB

Program requires a prompt processing of

claims that ensures participating

providers, including those who

currently have no relationship with

USAC, receive reimbursement for valid

claims for services and connected

devices provided to eligible households.

To ensure that there is a mechanism for

disbursing funds to providers that

balances the need to guard against

waste, fraud, and abuse in the EBB

Program with the need to reimburse

valid claims quickly and efficiently, the

Commission adopts the following

requirements for the reimbursement

process.

83. Lifeline Claims System. The

Commission recognizes the importance

of using existing, functional systems

such as the NLAD and the Lifeline

Claims System to ensure that EBB

Program providers can submit timely

reimbursement claims yet are not

claiming support for the same

household. The NLAD plays a vital role

in ensuring that providers can only

claim subscribers enrolled in NLAD on

the first of each month and the

information captured in NLAD serves as

the basis for claims in the Lifeline

Claims System. As with Lifeline, the

Commission requires providers in the

EBB Program to transmit to the NLAD

the required information necessary to

uniquely identify households. To help

maintain the integrity of the EBB

Program and to facilitate efficient

processing of reimbursement claims, the

Commission adopts the proposal in the

Public Notice, DA 21–6, to use USAC’s

Lifeline Claims System to reimburse

providers for the provision of covered

devices, services and associated

equipment to eligible households. The

Lifeline Claims System is the online

filing system hosted by USAC that

service providers use to submit claims

for reimbursement for service they

provide to Lifeline customers. In the

Lifeline program, providers are required

to submit a reimbursement request

through the Lifeline Claims System

based on the number of subscribers

enrolled in the NLAD on a specific date

each month, called a snapshot date.

Providers are instructed to review the

snapshot report from NLAD for all of the

provider’s households in NLAD as of

that date, validate the households for

which they wish to seek reimbursement,

or indicate a reason for not claiming

reimbursement for other households on

the report, and review, correct, and

certify the requested reimbursement

amount. The Commission employs the

same process for reimbursing providers

in the EBB Program. The Commission

directs USAC to make the Lifeline

Claims System available to EBB Program

providers, once they are approved to

participate in the program, subject to

USAC system access requirements.

84. Commenters generally support the

WCB’s proposal to use the Lifeline

Claims System for managing

reimbursements, stating that the use of

an existing USAC platform will avoid

unnecessary delays that would result

from developing a new reimbursement

platform for use in the EBB Program.

Some noted the importance of issuing

reimbursements quickly, particularly for

smaller providers that may find it

financially difficult to wait months for

reimbursement. The Information

Technology and Innovation Foundation

(ITIF) contends that using the Lifeline

Claims System for managing

reimbursements will ‘‘expedite[ ]

financial recovery by providers to

ensure stability while also leveraging a

tested, already established system with

Lifeline.’’ Other commenters, such as

the National Consumer Law Center and

the United Church of Christ OC, Inc.

(NCLC and UCC) noted that using the

Lifeline Claims System will provide

integrity to the EBB Program by helping

to ensure that the funds are directed to

providers and consumers for eligible

services and connected devices.

85. Uniform snapshot date. The

disbursement of EBB Program claims

will be based on the number of Program

subscribers enrolled with a provider in

the NLAD as of the first of each month.

The first of the month will serve as the

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uniform snapshot date. When

establishing the uniform snapshot date

for Lifeline, the Commission finds that

the practice would (1) reduce the risk

that the EBB Program would reimburse

multiple providers for serving the same

customer in a month; (2) assist with the

adoption of uniform audit procedures;

and (3) aid in the calculation of support

based on the number of subscribers that

a service provider has listed in NLAD.

Commenters also recognized the value

of establishing a uniform snapshot date

for use in the EBB Program. For

example, T-Mobile stated that applying

the uniform snapshot date will simplify

the enrollment and reimbursement

process in the EBB Program as it

currently does for Lifeline. The

Commission agrees that the uniform

snapshot date brings efficiencies to the

reimbursement process by restricting

support to those eligible subscribers that

are enrolled in NLAD on the first of

each month and removing any

uncertainty that would come with a

requirement for providers to claim

subscribers on a pro-rata basis in the

event households receive service for less

than the full month. On the other hand,

employing a method that allows for

partial claims would be cumbersome to

administer and would make it difficult

for USAC to track disbursements from

the Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund. The Commission finds it most

efficient to require providers to claim

subscribers that are enrolled in NLAD as

of the first of the month regardless of

how many days in the month the

provider was providing service to the

subscriber.

86. Program-wide use of NLAD for

reimbursements. The Commission also

establishes that NLAD will be used as a

tool for reimbursement calculations and

duplicate checks in all states, territories

and the District of Columbia, regardless

of a state’s NLAD opt-out status for

purposes of the Lifeline Program.

Uniformity in the ways providers

interact with the Lifeline Claims System

and other USAC systems is essential in

ensuring that the EBB Program operates

efficiently, which is a priority given the

emergency and temporary nature of the

Program. Asking USAC to develop and

administer different reimbursement

processes for different states would

delay the implementation of this

emergency program and potentially

burden state administrators. Moreover,

the Commission recognizes the need for

non-ETC providers to quickly become

familiar with the reimbursement process

to ensure that claims are made correctly

and to reduce the need for revisions.

Having multiple reimbursement

processes would further complicate the

EBB Program and lead to confusion

among providers who are not familiar

with existing Lifeline processes,

particularly in opt-out states. This

uniform approach and program-wide

reliance on the NLAD for the generation

of the snapshot report is important in

facilitating the swift processing of

reimbursement claims.

87. Certification requirements. To

submit their reimbursement claims for

broadband internet access service

provided to eligible households, the

Commission requires participating

providers to review their snapshot

report and validate the eligible

households for which they are

requesting reimbursement. The provider

shall confirm that the reimbursement

amount matches the amount of the

monthly service or connected device for

which the participating provider is

permitted to seek reimbursement and

make any corrections to the amount as

necessary. The Commission also

requires providers to review the

snapshot report and to confirm that

households receiving a fully subsidized

service have used the service during the

relevant period. If a household has not

used their service during the relevant

period, then the provider shall not

submit a reimbursement claim for

service provided to that household until

the service is used and the non-usage is

cured. To add more accountability and

to help ensure that only service that

subscribers are using is funded through

the EBB Program, the Commission

requires that providers certify that their

EBB Program service claims for

reimbursement meet the usage

requirements. To ensure that the

Program is supporting broadband

service that is actually being used, the

Commission will not permit providers

to seek reimbursement for a service

month in which a household did not

meet the usage requirements, even if the

household meets the usage requirements

in subsequent months.

88. Additionally, the Commission

requires providers to make the

certifications, including those set forth

in the CAA when submitting a

reimbursement claim. The CAA requires

that in order to receive reimbursement

from the Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund, the providers shall

make several certifications regarding the

accuracy of their claims, compliance

with the requirements of the EBB

Program and various consumer

protection-related provisions.

Specifically, the CAA requires that

providers certify that the amount for

which they are seeking reimbursement

from the Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund is not more than the

standard rate, and that each eligible

household for which the provider is

seeking reimbursement for providing

internet service has not or will not be

charged (1) for that offering if the

standard rate for that offering is less

than or equal to the amount of the EBB

Program benefit for that household; or

(2) more for that offering than the

difference between the standard rate for

that offering and the amount of the EBB

Program benefit for that household. The

provider is also required to certify that

each eligible household for which it is

seeking reimbursement will not be

required to pay an early termination fee,

was not after December 27, 2020, subject

to a mandatory waiting period for the

covered broadband internet service, and

will otherwise be subject to the

provider’s generally applicable terms

and conditions as they are applied to

other customers. Moreover, providers

are required to certify that each

household for which they are seeking a

reimbursement for a connected device

has been charged more than $10 and

less than $50 for the connected device.

Finally, for providers that are claiming

households that they determined to be

eligible to enroll in the EBB Program

through the alternative verification

process, providers must provide a

description of that verification process

and certify that the process was

designed to avoid waste, fraud, and

abuse and has been approved by the

Commission as required by section III(B)

of the RO.

89. The Public Notice, DA 21–6,

proposed that these certifications

accompany each reimbursement claim,

in addition to an annual certification

submitted by participating providers.

Commenters did not object to this

certification, although some asked for

additional certifications while others

requested that the Commission not

require certifications beyond those

listed in the CAA. The Commission

finds that certifications, along with the

possibility of audits, are a vital tool for

managing waste, fraud, and abuse.

While the certifications required by the

CAA address many of the Program

requirements, the Commission finds

that additional certifications are

necessary to ensure compliance with

Commission’s requirements that it finds

essential to help guard against waste,

fraud, and abuse in the EBB Program.

Accordingly, the Commission directs

USAC to make any adjustments

necessary to the Lifeline Claims System

to ensure that providers are prompted to

certify that their reimbursement claims

meet the usage requirements and to

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certify the statements included in

section 904(b)(6) of the CAA. The

Commission further directs USAC, in

coordination with the WCB, to develop

an annual certification for all

participating providers and a process for

its submission. As discussed in the

following, the Commission also adopts

additional certifications to accompany

reimbursement claims for connected

devices distributed through the EBB

Program.

90. As well-established in the record,

the Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund has limited funding and the

Commission must make every effort to

ensure that the Commission maximizes

the use of these funds to serve as many

eligible households as possible,

including responsibly leveraging EBB

Program funding with other sources of

support. To that end the Commission

requires participating providers that are

applying both the Lifeline discount and

the Emergency Broadband Benefit to a

household’s supported broadband

service to apply the full Lifeline

discount first before calculating the

reimbursement amount claimed under

the EBB Program. This approach

responsibly stewards limited EBB

Program funding where Lifeline support

is available and is consistent with the

requirements of § 54.403(b) of the

Commission’s rules regarding the

application of the Lifeline support

amount.

91. Reimbursement for Connected

Devices. EBB Program providers can

also seek up to $100 reimbursement for

a connected device provided to a

household satisfying the requirements

set forth in the RO and as long as the

household has been charged more than

$10 but less than $50 for the device. To

facilitate the efficient review and

processing of reimbursement claims for

connected devices, the Commission

directs USAC to modify the Lifeline

Claims System to manage these claims.

Because the Consolidated

Appropriations Act limits the connected

device reimbursement to providers who

are providing the EBB Program benefit

to the household, the Commission

requires that claims for connected

devices must be made concurrent with

or after the provider’s first

reimbursement claim for service for that

household. To ensure that a household

does not receive more than one

connected device for which a provider

has received reimbursement from the

EBB Program, providers are also

required to confirm in NLAD that no

reimbursement claim for a connected

device has been made for that

household.

92. Some commenters agreed with the

proposal in the Public Notice, DA 21–

6, to require providers to certify that the

household receiving the device is an

EBB Program beneficiary and that the

household has been charged the

required co-pay for the device. To help

make the Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund last as long as

possible, Public Knowledge urged the

Commission to require providers to

prove the retail value of the connected

device to ensure that the provider is not

receiving a reimbursement that exceeds

the value of the device. The

Commission acknowledges the need to

balance speedy and efficient processing

of reimbursement claims with the need

to protect the integrity of the EBB

Program by ensuring the

reimbursements are only processed for

valid claims that comply with the

requirements of this Order. To that end,

to ensure the quick reimbursement of

valid claims for connected devices,

USAC will not be required collect and

review documentation before processing

a reimbursement claim. Instead, the

Commission requires providers, under

penalty of perjury, to certify that the

connected device meets the

Commission’s requirements, that the

reimbursement claim amount reflects

the market value of the device, that the

household has been charged a

compliant co-pay amount, and that the

connected device has been delivered to

the household. Providers are instructed

to retain any materials that document

compliance with these requirements,

including the device type (e.g., laptop,

tablet, mobile hotspot, modem, gateway,

router, antenna, receiver, or satellite

dish) and device make and model. The

Commission finds that requiring

certifications under penalty of perjury

along with the possibility of an audit

will help to encourage compliance with

EBB Program requirements and reduce

the incidence of improper payments.

93. Timing of Reimbursement Claims.

The EBB Program is a limited duration

program with limited funds, and it is

important that the Commission is able

to project accurately when those funds

will run out. To this end, USAC must

have actual reimbursement claims

information from providers as soon as

possible after each service month. USAC

will use this claims information for

reporting the disbursement information

to the public and for creating a forecast

for the projected final month of the EBB

Program, both of which are discussed in

the following. To ensure that this claims

information is submitted to USAC by

providers in a timely manner so that it

can be used to administer the program

efficiently, and so providers can receive

timely reimbursement for the discount

they provide to households, the

Commission established a limited time

period during which providers can

submit reimbursement claims. The

process for submitting a reimbursement

claim will largely track the process in

the Lifeline program, where a snapshot

report of a provider’s enrolled

subscribers as of the first of the month

is sent to the provider. Providers will

then have until the 15th of each month,

or the following business day in the

event the 15th falls on a weekend or

holiday, in which to submit to USAC

their reimbursement claims for both

service and connected device support

for households captured on the

snapshot report. For those providers

seeking to have their reimbursement

claim processed quicker, they must

review and certify their reimbursement

claims sooner, as established by USAC.

94. The record was clear that there is

universal support for accurate and

timely reporting of reimbursement

information so that providers and the

public can make informed decisions

regarding their participation in the EBB

Program. Providers can help the

Commission ensure that USAC is

collecting nearly real-time claims

information by submitting their accurate

reimbursement claims as soon as

possible and within that 15-day period.

Moreover, given the importance of the

projection of the program’s end date as

it relates to the smooth administration

of the end of the EBB Program, the

Commission trusts that providers will

do their part in ensuring that USAC has

reimbursement claims information as

soon as possible. The Commission also

believes providers will be motivated to

receive reimbursements as soon as

possible. To that end, to ensure the

timely filing of reimbursement claims so

that USAC’s projections are reliable and

based on current activity in the EBB

Program, the Commission finds it

necessary to restrict the processing of

reimbursement claims to those

submitted by the deadline set for each

month—either the 15th of that month or

the following business day in the event

that the 15th falls on a holiday or

weekend. Reimbursement claims

submitted after that deadline will not be

processed. Therefore, providers are

strongly encouraged to submit their

claims as soon as possible.

95. To further support the

Commission effort to track

disbursements and to provide a

projection for the depletion of the Fund

that is based on the most accurate and

up-to-date household and disbursement

information, the Commission is

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prohibiting providers from revising

previously submitted claims associated

with the provision of EBB Program

services and connected devices. The

Commission expects that this limitation

will encourage providers to be

especially cautious when reviewing

reimbursement claims prior to

submission to ensure accuracy.

Moreover, preventing changes to prior

disbursements will give the

Commission, USAC, providers and

households confidence in the reported

disbursement amounts. Providers are

required to certify to the accuracy of

reimbursement claims and that the

United States, the Commission, and

USAC retain the right to pursue

recoveries as well as take enforcement

action for any claims improperly

disbursed from the Fund. Additionally,

to help support USAC’s efforts to project

the end of the EBB Program, the

Commission sought participating

providers’ cooperation and request that

they transmit to NLAD the amount they

intend to claim for service and

connected device support for each

household they enroll in NLAD. While

the reimbursement amount processed

for the provider will be based on the

amount contained in the provider’s

certified reimbursement claim

submitted through the Lifeline Claims

System, the information transmitted to

NLAD will, in part, be relied upon for

calculating the EBB Program’s projected

end date. The Commission encourages

providers to transmit a good faith

estimate of the monthly support amount

for service and any device provided to

the household through the EBB Program

within seven days of enrolling the

household in NLAD.

96. USAC training and support.

Finally, the Commission recognizes that

the EBB Program will attract a variety of

broadband providers, including those

with no prior experience with USAC

and its systems. To provide guidance on

the reimbursement claims process, the

Commission directs USAC, subject to

the oversight of the OMD and the WCB,

to conduct extensive training, including

webinars, to distribute instructions, and

otherwise to provide support to

broadband providers considering

participation in the EBB Program. The

Commission further directs USAC to

ensure that interested providers are

given access, subject to system and

USAC requirements, to the USAC

systems essential for the management

and processing of reimbursement

claims.

97. Payment Administration. While

USAC will be administering the EBB

Program, as permitted under section

904(i)(5) of the CAA, and pursuant to

the terms of the MOU between the

Commission and USAC that authorizes

the use of USAC for the administration

of the EBB Program, the Commission

must authorize the payments from the

Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund in the United States Treasury to

providers who have submitted valid

claims for reimbursement. In the RO,

the Commission describes steps to

remove impediments to participation in

the EBB Program for those providers

that would otherwise be prohibited from

receiving reimbursements due to unpaid

debts to the Commission or which the

Commission has referred to the United

States Department of the Treasury

(Treasury). The Commission also

provides guidance on the information

providers must be prepared to provide

to ensure timely payment of

reimbursement claims from the Fund.

98. Red Light Rule. The Commission

finds that there is good cause to suspend

the Commission’s red light rule for the

EBB Program and that doing so will

serve the public interest. To implement

the requirements of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996, the

Commission establishes what is

commonly referred to as the ‘‘red light

rule,’’ although the red light rule itself

is not a statutory requirement and

therefore can be waived by the

Commission. Under the red light rule,

the Commission will not take action on

applications or other requests by an

entity that is finds to owe debts to the

Commission until full payment or

resolution of that debt.

99. Generally, the Commission’s rules

may be waived for good cause shown.

The Commission may exercise its

discretion to waive a rule where the

particular facts make strict compliance

inconsistent with the public interest. In

addition, the Commission may take into

account considerations of hardship,

equity, or more effective

implementation of overall policy on an

overall basis.

100. The Commission finds that the

temporary nature of this emergency

program and the enduring disruption

caused by the COVID–19 pandemic

justify a waiver of the red light rule. In

order to encourage provider

participation and facilitate consumer

choice in the EBB Program, the

Commission finds that it is in the public

interest and that good cause exists to

waive the red light rule with respect to

providers submitting otherwise valid

claims for reimbursement in the EBB

Program. Allowing more providers to

participate in the EBB Program, even

those who may be in red light status, is

a crucial step in expanding the

broadband service options available to

low-income consumers through the EBB

Program. The Commission issues this

waiver to ensure that otherwise eligible

broadband providers are not

discouraged from participating in the

EBB Program for fear that a debt owed

to the Commission would prevent them

from receiving reimbursement. To be

clear, this waiver is limited only to

participation of providers in the EBB

Program and does not affect the

Commission’s right or obligation to

collect any debt owed by an applicant

by any other means available to the

Commission, including by referral to the

Treasury for collection.

101. Treasury Offset. The Treasury

has a number of collection tools,

including its offset program, known as

the Treasury Offset Program (TOP),

pursuant to which it collects delinquent

debts owed to Federal agencies and

states by individuals and entities, by

offsetting those debts against Federal

monies owed to the debtors. EBB

Program providers that owe past-due

debt to a Federal agency or a state may

have all or part of their EBB Program

payments offset by Treasury to satisfy

such debt. Prior to referral of its debt to

Treasury, a provider is notified of the

debt owed, including repayment

instructions. If the referred debt of an

EBB Program participating provider

remains outstanding at the time of a

payment from the EBB Program to that

provider, the provider will be notified

by Treasury that some or all of its EBB

Program payment has been offset to

satisfy an outstanding Federal or state

debt. EBB Program providers are

required to pass the EBB Program

discount to the customer for the service

or connected device claimed even if

Treasury offsets the payment for such

service or device against debt owed by

the provider. EBB Program providers

that owe past due Federal or state debts

are encouraged to resolve such debts

and in doing so, consult the TOP

Frequently Asked Questions for the

Public, available at https://

fiscal.treasury.gov/top/faqs-for-the-

public.html, for delinquent debt that has

been referred to Treasury, and for

delinquent debt that the Commission

has not yet referred to Treasury, consult

https:/www.fcc.gov/general/red-light-

frequently-asked-questions.

102. Additional Requirements. To be

eligible to receive disbursements from

the Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund, providers must obtain and report

an FCC Registration Number (FRN).

Persons or entities doing business with

the Commission are required to obtain

an FRN, a unique identifier that is

obtained through the Commission

Registration System (CORES).

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Participating providers are directed to

obtain an FRN if they do not already

have one and report it as directed by

USAC or the Commission.

103. All entities that intend to provide

service through the EBB Program must

also register with the System for Award

Management (SAM). SAM is a web-

based, government-wide application

that collects, validates, stores, and

disseminates business information

about the Federal Government’s

partners in support of Federal awards,

grants, and electronic payment

processes. Registration in the SAM

provides the Commission with an

authoritative source for information

necessary to provide funding to

applicants and to ensure accurate

reporting pursuant to the Federal

Funding Accountability and

Transparency Act of 2006, as amended

by the Digital Accountability and

Transparency Act of 2014 (collectively

the Transparency Act or FFATA/DATA

Act). Only those providers registered in

SAM will be able to receive

reimbursement from the Emergency

Broadband Connectivity Fund. EBB

Program providers that are already

registered with SAM do not need to re-

register with that system in order to

receive payment from the Emergency

Broadband Connectivity Fund.

Broadband providers not yet registered

with SAM may still elect to participate

in the EBB Program, enroll eligible

customers and receive program

commitments. Active SAM registration,

however, is required for an eligible

provider to receive a payment from the

EBB Program. Furthermore,

participating providers may be subject

to reporting requirements. To the extent

that participating providers subaward

the payments they receive from the EBB

Program, as defined by FFATA/DATA

Act regulations, providers may be

required to submit data on those

subawards.

104. Do Not Pay. Pursuant to the

requirements of the Payment Integrity

Information Act of 2019 (PIIA), the

Commission is required to ensure that a

thorough review of available databases

with relevant information on eligibility

occurs to determine program or award

eligibility and prevent improper

payments before the release of any

Federal funds. To meet this

requirement, the Commission and

USAC will make full use of the Do Not

Pay system administered by the

Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

If a check of the Do Not Pay system

results in a finding that an EBB Program

provider should not be paid, the

Commission will withhold issuing

commitments and payments. USAC may

work with the EBB Program provider to

give it an opportunity to resolve its

listing in the Do Not Pay system if the

provider can produce evidence that its

listing in the Do Not Pay system should

be removed. However, the EBB Program

provider will be responsible for working

with the relevant agency to correct its

information before payment can be

made by the Commission.

105. Tracking and Reporting of

Available Funding. While the

Commission considers carefully many

of the details of the implementation of

the EBB Program, the amount of

appropriated funds is finite and it must

also prepare for a transition when funds

are exhausted. The CAA provides that

the EBB Program will conclude upon

the earlier of six months after the end

of the emergency period or when the

amount in the Fund is exhausted. At the

conclusion of the EBB Program when

the discount is eliminated, participating

households will be subject to their

provider’s ‘‘generally applicable terms

and conditions.’’ The Commission

agrees with commenters that the

Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund may well be depleted before the

end of the emergency period, which

means that the benefit on which

households have been relying to afford

broadband service may disappear while

the public health emergency is ongoing.

To prepare providers and households

for the end of the program and the

benefit, commenters stressed the

importance of transparency regarding

the financial state of the EBB Program

and have urged the Commission to track

and report disbursements from the

program at frequent intervals so that the

public can anticipate the end of the

program.

106. Commenters recommended the

creation of a tracker that displays the

number of enrollments and amounts of

disbursements made from the

Emergency Broadband Connectivity

Fund. Some commenters suggested that

the tracker be updated either in real-

time, or on a weekly or monthly basis.

Commenters also urged the Commission

to display disbursements and

enrollment activity by different

geographic levels or by provider, and to

provide additional information about

the programs through which EBB

Program customers are qualifying.

Commenters argued that providers need

this information prepare their customers

for the elimination of the benefit.

107. The Commission agrees that

tracking and reporting on disbursement

and program enrollment activity will be

an essential tool for managing the EBB

Program and for developing an informed

forecast of the end of the EBB Program.

Given the anticipated limited duration

of the EBB Program, the Commission

further agrees with commenters that

clear and frequent updates on the

remaining funds available will help give

participating providers the data they

need to begin the process of providing

notice to subscribers about the end of

the benefit and preparing them for a

potential transition to other broadband

options. The Commission will develop

and publish online a tracker that, at a

minimum, displays (1) the number of

EBB Program households enrolled in

NLAD; (2) the number of net new

households enrolling into the EBB

Program each week; and (3) the total

dollar amount of the reimbursement

claims approved to date, disaggregated

by monthly amounts for internet access

service and associated equipment, as

well as connected devices, with

historical data remaining so that the

public can monitor any trends in the

disbursement rates between updates.

The Commission directs USAC, subject

to the oversight of the WCB and the

OMD, to develop this tracker and make

it available on USAC’s website as well

as the Commission’s website. The

posted information shall be updated at

least every two weeks by USAC, with

the goal of weekly updates as the EBB

Program ramps up.

108. The Commission declines to

require that USAC post detailed

information about EBB Program

activities by geographic region, finding

that such information would not be

essential for informing providers and

the public about the status of the

program, which is the Commission’s

more immediate goal. USAC should

focus its resources on what is necessary

to successfully administer the

implementation of the EBB Program and

its wind-down. However, the

Commission agrees that more

information about the communities the

EBB Program serves could help the

Commission evaluate the success of this

program and could inform future

broadband-related initiatives. Therefore,

to be transparent about participation in

the EBB Program, the Commission

directs USAC to submit a report to the

Commission that provides information

about how households qualified for the

EBB Program, the claimed support

amounts for connected devices and

services, the geographic locations of

consumers at the county level, and other

information that the WCB, in

consultation with USAC, believes

would be essential for evaluating the

program. This report shall be filed with

the WCB no more than six months after

the initiation of the EBB Program, with

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updates submitted as necessary to

capture additional information about

the EBB Program and participating

households obtained after the

submission of the report.

109. Program Sunsetting. The

Commission goal is to provide an

informed projection of the exhaustion of

funds for the EBB Program so USAC and

the Commission can effectively manage

the disbursement of the remaining funds

and ample notice is provided to

households, providers and other

stakeholders. The Commission is

especially concerned about the

elimination of the benefit and the

impact it could have on households,

including unexpected or larger bills,

and disruption or even termination of

the broadband service. Accordingly, the

Commission adopts procedures

designed to ensure that households are

informed that the program is temporary

and the benefit will terminate at the end

of the program, to provide notice to all

stakeholders of the forecasted end of the

program, and to manage the program to

ensure that the remaining funds are

disbursed equally to providers and

allow for a transition for households off

the EBB Program.

110. The first step in administering

the end of the EBB Program is to predict

fund exhaustion based on enrollment

activity, disbursement levels, and other

relevant information. Commenters

argued that stakeholders will require

advanced notice of the end of the

program, in addition to the EBB

Program activity posted on a tracker, to

prepare their customer service

representatives, billing systems, and

customers for the elimination of the

subsidy. The Commission cannot

predict at this time when the Emergency

Broadband Connectivity Fund will be

depleted, but as households enroll in

the EBB Program and providers begin to

submit claims for reimbursement, the

Commission anticipates a clearer

picture of the interest in the program

and the rate at which funds will be

withdrawn. The Commission recognizes

that a greater understanding of the

timing of the end of the EBB Program

and the procedures the Commission and

USAC will employ to manage the

remaining funds and reimbursement

claims will create greater confidence in

the EBB Program and help households

navigate the end of the subsidy.

111. First, the Commission directs

USAC to develop a method, subject to

the oversight of the Office of Managing

Director, the Office of Economics and

Analytics, and the WCB, to forecast

when the Fund will be able to pay out

reimbursement claims only for another

75 to 90 days. The forecast shall take

into account the Commission

commitment that in the final month of

disbursements, the remaining balance in

the Fund will be able to provide at least

50% of each claim for service or

connected devices to assist households

and providers with the transition. Once

USAC has identified when the Fund

will be depleted using submitted claims

and other relevant information, USAC

will notify providers and the public of

the expected exhaustion of the Fund

and the month in which USAC expects

to pay out final claims. Administering

this finite Fund presents administrative

challenges, particularly given that the

Commission is unable to predict at this

time the demand in the EBB Program

and the rate of at which households will

enroll in the program in the beginning

weeks of the program. Given these

challenges, the Commission has

endeavors to provide at least 60 days’

notice before the end of the Program.

This notice will be posted on the USAC

and Commission websites at least 60

days prior to the final snapshot date that

coincides with the forecasted final

month of the Program. This notice

should be sufficient to allow providers

to make an informed decision about

whether to plan to claim their EBB

Program subscribers in the final month

and possibly receive a partial

reimbursement claim for the service

provided, or to transition those

subscribers off their service.

112. Some commenters suggested 30

days’ notice of the end of the program

would be adequate whereas others

argued that 90 days are needed to

ensure that providers have ample time

to provide notice to their customers.

CTIA suggested that providers have at

least 60 days’ notice to wind down their

participation in the EBB Program. The

Commission finds that 60 days’ notice

of the termination of the EBB Program

strikes a balance between the need for

USAC to have enough data to accurately

forecast the end of the program with the

need to offer enough time for providers

to notify their customers and work with

them on a post-program broadband

solution. This is an emergency program

and as such, requires all stakeholders to

work expeditiously in ensuring that the

Commission is serving low-income

households and helping to meet their

broadband needs during the pandemic.

Moreover, the Commission finds that 60

days’ notice is reasonable given other

existing Commission requirements for

service providers to notify their

subscribers in advance of a possible

change or disruption in their service,

and the Commission expects that

providers will be able to adjust their

systems as necessary to provide such

notice just as they would need to in

these other contexts.

113. Second, in the event that

reimbursement claims in the final

month exceed the amount of remaining

funds, reimbursements for both service

and connected device claims will be

paid out on a reduced, pro-rata basis,

but in no circumstances will the

reimbursement be less than 50% of the

provider’s claim for that final month.

For example, if the remaining balance in

the Fund is sufficient to pay 80% of

each reimbursement claim submitted in

that final month, the Fund will pay out

80% of each claim on a pro-rata basis,

thus depleting the Fund and ending the

EBB Program. In this scenario, a

provider can expect to receive a $40

disbursement if they would otherwise

submit a service claim for $50, and the

subscriber would be responsible for

payment of the additional $10 for that

service month. While the Commission

took steps in the RO to ensure that

USAC has the most up-to-date claims

information available to support its

projection analysis and to avoid a

scenario where the amount in the Fund

will be insufficient to offer a

reimbursement of at least 50% on

claims in that final month, the

Commission recognizes that in order to

responsibly manage the Fund, the

Commission must prepare for this

scenario. In the final months of the EBB

Program, after the end date has been

forecast, the Commission directs USAC

to continue to monitor Program activity

to determine whether the Fund will be

able to support at least 50% of the

claims, paid out on a pro-rata basis, in

the expected final month of the EBB

Program. If USAC’s analysis indicates

that the Fund will not be able to meet

this 50% threshold, USAC shall

immediately notify the WCB, the Office

of Economics and Analytics, and the

Office of Managing Director. If

Commission staff agrees with USAC’s

analysis, the WCB will direct USAC to

pause the reimbursement process for

that final month. For example, in the

event that the remaining balance in the

Fund could only pay 30% of each

anticipated claim for support, the Fund

will not issue any disbursements in that

month. In that situation where the

remaining funds cannot guarantee at

least a 50% disbursement on claims in

that final month, the Commission will

determine how best to use the

remaining funds consistent with the

CAA.

114. The Commission recognizes that

uncertainty in the subsidy amount for

the final month presents challenges for

households and for providers as they

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manage their participation in the EBB

Program and as providers communicate

to households regarding expectations for

the final month. By establishing a 50%

floor for the final month of

reimbursement, the Commission

balances the compelling interest in

avoiding extreme price increases for

eligible households while transitioning

households off the subsidy, with its

obligation to maximize the effectiveness

of EBB Program funds by ensuring that

as much of the Fund supports services

to the greatest number of low-income

households. Reimbursing each claim on

a pro-rata basis in the final month of the

program, regardless of the amount the

provider would be entitled to, helps the

Commission fulfill that mandate. The

Commission recognizes the 50% floor

could result in some funds being left

unspent for a short while, and would

require additional Commission

direction on the use of the remaining

funds, but by implementing this

approach it is ensuring that the final

month of the program provides a

substantial subsidy to help households

transition off the program. The

Commission also anticipates that

USAC’s projections will provide enough

advance notice of this possibility to

allow both households and providers to

plan accordingly.

115. The Commission declines to

adopt a policy suggested by commenters

that would structure the subsidy so

eligible households would receive the

benefit for a determined time period.

The Commission finds that such a

mechanism would restrict household

participation in the EBB Program in

order to guarantee benefits to a more

limited number of households for the

set period, and would also require

USAC to deny enrollment to otherwise

eligible households. Given its obligation

to maximize the effectiveness of the EBB

Program, the Commission finds it could

not adopt a regime that would limit the

low-income households benefitting from

this program. Maximizing the number of

households while guaranteeing at least

a 50% benefit in the final month

balanced the need to serve as many

households as possible while ensuring

that households can rely on a

substantial benefit in the final month of

the EBB Program.

116. Relatedly, several commenters

suggested that the Commission reserve a

portion of the funding for households

that do not already have broadband

service connections. Education Super

Highway noted that funding is unlikely

to meet the demand for the EBB

Program, and that those without a

broadband connection may have a more

difficult path and be at a disadvantage

in applying for the program given the

provider-centric design of the EBB

Program. While the Commission

understands these concerns, the

Commission declines to set aside any

portion of the funding for unconnected

households. The CAA does not include

any prioritization for how funding

should be distributed to eligible

households, and the Commission finds

that it is appropriate to provide the

benefit to eligible households without

regard to their current level of

broadband service. Moreover, the

Commission expects the outreach efforts

discussed in the following would help

unconnected households enroll in the

EBB Program.

117. Because of the uncertainty in the

reimbursement amount for the final

month, once notice of the projected end

date has been issued, the Commission

must limit volatility in the program

claims that could materially change the

projected end date. As a result, the

Commission will freeze enrollments of

new households at the time the notice

is issued. To more smoothly administer

the end of the program, providers and

households must have confidence that

the Fund can support claims made up

until the forecasted end date. The

Commission recognizes that this

enrollment freeze will restrict access to

the program for households wishing to

enroll in the program’s waning weeks,

but the Commission notes that the EBB

Program will operate without any cap

on the number of eligible households

that will be able to enroll before that

time. The Commission finds that an

enrollment freeze at the end of the

program allows the Commission to serve

the greatest number of eligible low-

income households while responsibly

managing the remaining funds in the

final weeks of the program. Therefore,

the Commission directs USAC, under

the oversight of the OMD and the WCB,

to develop procedures for implementing

this enrollment freeze.

118. Notice to consumers. In the

Public Notice, DA 21–6, the WCB

acknowledged that customers will need

to be notified prior to or upon

enrollment in the EBB Program of the

temporary nature of the program and

that they will be subject to the general

terms and conditions of the broadband

service they receive through the EBB

Program if they continue to take that

service after the program’s conclusion.

119. Commenters agreed that notice at

the time of enrollment is essential

especially given that no one can state

with confidence at the outset how long

the program will last. Public Knowledge

stated that providers must be ‘‘fully

transparent with consumers, at the time

of sign-up, about these factors.’’ Hughes

Network Systems agreed that providers

must have a responsibility in notifying

subscribers at the time of enrollment

that the program will end when the

funds are depleted or when the

emergency period ends. To ensure that

customers are given notice at or before

initial enrollment that the EBB Program

benefit provides a temporary discount

on their broadband service bill, that

discount will not be applied to their

bill, the Commission directs USAC, in

consultation with the WCB, to publish

language describing the limited duration

of the benefit and the potential impact

on the customer’s bill at the end of the

program on USAC’s relevant consumer-

facing websites, any USAC-provided

application and the National Verifier,

and other educational materials.

120. Providers also play an important

role in ensuring that their customers are

informed about the temporary nature of

the EBB Program. Providers will have a

direct relationship with their customers,

and as such, have a responsibility to

ensure that these customers have the

information they need to make an

informed decision about the broadband

service product they subscribe to

supported by the EBB Program.

Accordingly, the Commission directs

USAC and providers to include on their

EBB Program consumer applications a

certification for the household to affirm

that they understand that the EBB

Program is a temporary Federal

Government subsidy that reduces the

customer’s broadband internet access

service bill and at the conclusion of the

EBB Program, the household will be

subject to the provider’s undiscounted

general rates, terms, and conditions if

the household continues to subscribe to

the service.

121. The Commission also requires

providers to include information about

the limited duration of the Program and

the impact of its termination on any

EBB Program advertising materials,

including, but not limited to billing

inserts; websites; flyers; television,

radio, and newspaper advertising;

mailers; and posters. The Commission

directs providers to use their best

judgment in developing language that

will clearly communicate the duration

and impact of the program’s end to the

prospective low-income households, but

at a minimum that language should

comply with the relevant EBB Program

rules the Commission adopts herein.

Providers have an interest in

communicating the terms of the

Program clearly to their customers to

manage expectations and to preserve the

relationship. It is important as both a

consumer protection measure and to

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ensure that low-income consumers

continue to have access to broadband

services during this pandemic, that

providers assist customers by

transitioning them to other available

products in the event that the

broadband service plan they were

subscribing to becomes unaffordable

after the EBB Program ends and the

benefit is eliminated.

122. The Commission is persuaded by

commenters’ arguments that customer

bills offer an opportunity to

communicate the limited duration of the

EBB Program and the impact on the

monthly bill when the subsidy ends.

Commenters representing aging and

public housing advocacy groups

recommended that providers submit

notices on consumer bills that provides

‘‘information on billing after the

conclusion of the EBB Program, when

the first bill at a higher rate will be due,

an explanation of any partial month

charges and information on any

additional resources.’’ The San

Francisco Department of Technology

contended that the temporary discount

should be clearly characterized as such

on consumer bills, and the Benton

Institute for Broadband and Society

urged the Commission to adopt

requirements that providers be in clear

communication with consumers about

the end of the subsidy and the amount

of the monthly bill that a customer is

responsible for. MMTC NUL

recommended that providers should

inform customers that ‘‘they will be

eligible to transition to an alternative,

lower-priced broadband plan at the

conclusion of the emergency program,

making clear the price, service levels,

and other terms and conditions that will

apply.’’

123. The Commission agrees that

provider-supplied communication is

important and will help guard against

unexpected bill-shock and confusion

throughout the EBB Program. Therefore,

the Commission requires providers

participating in the EBB Program to

deliver at the time of enrollment and on

a monthly basis, either in the form of a

monthly bill, or other monthly

communication if the benefit covers the

entire rate of the qualified plan, to its

EBB Program household, documentation

that prominently and clearly states in

easy to understand terms that the EBB

Program is a temporary subsidy that

reduces the customer’s broadband

internet access service bill and at the

conclusion of the benefit, the customer

will be subject to the provider’s general

rates, terms, and conditions if the

customer continues to subscribe to that

broadband service. This initial

disclosure, monthly bill or

communication must also prominently

and clearly set forth the rate that the

customer should be expected to pay,

including fees, taxes, and equipment

rental charges once the EBB Program

ends and the benefit expires. Once

USAC and the WCB announce a

forecasted end of the EBB Program, the

provider must provide notice to its

customer in a prominent manner on the

customer’s bill, or other monthly

communication if the benefit covers the

entire rate of the qualified plan, about

the last date or service month that the

full benefit will apply to their bill, the

last date or service month that the

partial, final-month benefit will apply to

their bill, and the expected rate of the

broadband service once the benefit

expires.

124. The Commission recognizes that

providers will need some time to adjust

their billing and other systems in order

to communicate the EBB Program end

date to their customers. Therefore,

providers should send this notice to

their customers as soon as practicable

after the notice is posted on USAC and

the Commission websites, but no less

than 15 days after the notice from USAC

and the Commission is posted. The

Commission encourages providers to

send this notification to households

electronically, consistent with any

consumer expressed preferences for

receiving electronic notices and other

communications and to the same email

or phone number that bills or other

monthly communications are sent, in

addition to a mailed notice to ensure

that customers have multiple

opportunities to receive information

regarding the end of the EBB Program

and alternative broadband plans if it

will be unaffordable without the benefit.

Commenters recognized that advance

notice to households is important so

they can make informed choices

regarding broadband service for their

household. The Commission finds that

providers are in the best position to

explain to their customers what will

happen to their bill once the benefit is

exhausted.

125. Household transition to other

services or discounts. The Commission

recognizes that the end of the EBB

Program means that households will

need to evaluate available options to

determine how their household can

continue to subscribe to broadband

services. Rather than limit participation

in the program to a predetermined

number of customers, as some

commenters suggest, the Commission

structures the EBB Program to ensure

that it serves the greatest number of

households possible. But this more

inclusive approach presents some

administrative challenges. For example,

the Commission cannot predict at this

time how long the EBB Program will last

and when a customer’s last month of

EBB Program-discounted service will

be. The Commission commits to

ensuring that the Commission is

transparent about the enrollment and

disbursement activity in the EBB

Program. The Commission knows that

there is a connection between a

household’s income level and whether

they have a home broadband

connection, and EBB Program customers

will need a smooth transition to

affordable broadband options at the

conclusion of the EBB Program if they

wish to maintain broadband service.

Commenters noted that it is vital that

consumers be transitioned to affordable

broadband services at the conclusion of

the EBB Program. Ensuring that these

households can continue accessing the

broadband they need to participate in

virtual learning, complete their

homework, and communicate with

employers and healthcare providers will

be a group effort. The Commission

encourages providers and community

groups to communicate the availability

of affordable broadband options,

including any broadband adoption

initiatives in their communities.

126. The Commission also hopes that

providers consider ways in which they

can financially support their customers

as the benefit ends and the households

look to transition to comparable

broadband services or continue with the

same broadband service offered at a

discounted rate subsidized by the

provider. The Commission also

recognizes that requiring providers to

directly subsidize a household’s

broadband service, either fully or

partially, once the Emergency

Broadband Connectivity Fund is

depleted would likely be considered to

be to an unfunded mandate. While the

Commission cannot and does not

require that providers offer a discount to

households at that time, the

Commission hopes that providers are

able to identify the ways in which they

can use their experience with the EBB

Program and the Federal support they

received to help households continue to

access high quality, low-cost broadband

service during the course of this public

health emergency. At a minimum,

providers with existing low-cost and

income restricted programs should not

preclude EBB Program recipients from

enrolling in those programs based on

current or recent customer (for example,

service within the last 90 days)

eligibility restrictions. Consumers

previously in an existing low-cost

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program and using the EBB Program

benefit to receive a higher tier of service

should be allowed to transition back to

the low-cost offering at the conclusion

of the benefit program.

127. Due to their relationship with

their EBB Program customers, providers

play an essential role in helping to

protect households from bill shock and

to ensure that households understand

that they ‘‘shall be subject to a

participating provider’s generally

applicable terms and conditions’’ after

the expiration of the EBB Program.

Therefore, the Commission requires that

providers obtain an affirmative opt-in

from households at any time while the

household is participating in the EBB

Program and before they can be charged

an amount higher than they would pay

under the full EBB Program

reimbursement amount permitted by the

Commission rules, including any

potential increased payment as a result

of a partial reimbursement during the

EBB Program’s final month. The

Commission agrees with commenters

that an opt-in from households will help

guard against unexpected charges by

reducing the likelihood that households

will receive broadband service absent

the EBB Program benefit without their

permission. To that end, consistent with

the notice requirements the Commission

adopts in the RO, with respect to

provider communications to

households, the provider shall clearly

state that it will stop providing

broadband service to the household at

the conclusion of the EBB Program

unless the household agrees to continue

to receive broadband service. At least 30

days before the end of the EBB Program,

the provider must also notify

households of the upcoming increase to

their monthly bills (or as soon as

practicable if there is a scenario in

which providers do not have 30 days’

notice prior to the expiration of the

program). The Commission encourages

providers to ensure that households

have the opportunity to make an

informed decision about the

continuation of broadband service

absent the EBB Program benefit. EBB

Program households that subscribed to

the provider’s broadband service before

the commencement of the EBB Program

must also opt-in to the continuation of

broadband service. The Commission

finds that requiring providers to obtain

permission from households before

continuing to provide broadband service

after the end of the EBB Program is

another tool that helps ensure that

households have the information they

need to make decisions about their

broadband services and to ensure that

the same households are protected from

unexpected bills related to their

broadband services.

128. Promoting Awareness. The

Commission recognizes that for the EBB

Program to achieve its full potential and

serve as many eligible households as

possible during the COVID–19

pandemic, low-income households must

be clearly informed of the program’s

existence, benefits, eligibility

qualifications, and how to apply.

Participating providers, some of whom

may not have experience with the

Lifeline program, USAC, and USAC’s

processes, will also require information

both on how to participate in the EBB

Program and on how to educate

consumers. The record overwhelmingly

reflected the importance of publicizing

the program to new and existing

consumers through national and local

campaigns that use diverse

spokespeople and languages. For the

EBB Program to reach as many eligible

consumers as possible, including

disconnected low-income consumers,

individuals with disabilities, and

households of color, it is important to

implement a broad, collaborative

outreach, including the Federal

Government, state, local, and Tribal

governments, broadband internet access

providers, community groups, trade

associations, Tribal communities,

philanthropists, educators, and other

trusted institutions. The record also

recognized the importance of educating

participating providers on the EBB

Program. To this end, the Commission

encourages EBB Program participating

providers to engage in consumer

marketing with basic requirements and

encourage them to consider

communications strategies proposed in

the record. The Commission also directs

the Commission staff and USAC to

develop comprehensive provider

education and training programs, as

well as consumer outreach plans.

Finally, the Commission strongly

encourages other civic entities to

publicize the EBB Program to eligible

households.

129. The Commission next encourages

providers that file an election notice

with USAC to publicize the availability

of the EBB Program service in a manner

reasonably designed to reach those

consumers likely to qualify and in a

manner that is accessible to individuals

with disabilities. The record

overwhelmingly confirmed that

participating providers should

publicize, including in languages other

than English, the availability of the EBB

Program. To ensure that consumers

receive comprehensive information

explaining the EBB Program, the

Commission recommends that provider

marketing materials describe in clear,

easily-understandable language in, if

feasible, the dominant languages of the

communities that the provider serves:

(1) The eligibility requirements for

consumer participation; (2) the

monetary charges to the customer; (3)

the available upload/download speeds,

data caps, and connected devices, if

any, with descriptions; (4) a provider

customer service number, prominently

displayed on all promotional materials,

that is associated with an adequately

staffed phone line; and (5) that the EBB

Program is a temporary emergency

Federal Government benefit program

operated by the FCC and, upon its

conclusion, customers will be subject to

the provider’s regular rates, terms, and

conditions.

130. The Commission declines to

mandate that providers engage in more

prescriptive forms of EBB Program

promotion. Instead, the Commission

grants providers the flexibility to

develop their own marketing plans. The

Commission finds that providers are in

the best position to understand how to

market a new program to the

communities they serve. However, the

Commission encourages participating

providers to consider and implement

some of the numerous consumer

outreach strategies described in the

record. For instance, many commenters

urged providers to engage in outreach

and partner with local government

agencies, through institutions providing

basic needs to eligible populations, such

as housing, food and transportation and

healthcare, schools eligible for free or

reduced lunch, school breakfast, and

E-Rate, libraries, and Tribal

organizations. The City of Seattle,

Washington State Broadband Office,

Seattle Public Schools District and

Seattle Housing Authority

recommended that providers without

retail locations where they serve

low-income customers partner with a

commercial, nonprofit, or other

community organizations to offer

site-based information about low-cost

offers for low-income communities.

Additionally, some commenters,

recognizing that eligible households

may not currently have access to

broadband, encouraged providers to use

a variety of media outlets that target

minority and low-income populations—

including newspapers, television and

radio stations, billboards, and internet

advertisements—to promote the EBB

Program through Public Service

Announcements and crawls that direct

listeners and viewers specifically to

where they can find local information

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on the program, learn which local

providers are participating, and ways to

contact those providers. Partnerships

with disability organizations and other

entities that frequently provide internet

access and technical assistance to

people with disabilities are further

encouraged by other commenters to

publicize the EBB Program.

131. The Commission also directs the

Consumer and Governmental Affairs

Bureau (CGB) to both to educate service

providers on the EBB Program and to

engage in consumer outreach to the

largest possible number of eligible

consumer participants. The Commission

further directs CGB and the Office of

Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) to

coordinate to develop educational and

informational communications and

materials to advertise the EBB Program,

such as a web page and digital toolkit,

in a printable format and translated into

other languages, that can easily be

accessed by service providers,

organizations, and the public. The

record demonstrated support for

Commission-developed marketing

materials—including charts, posters,

flyers and messaging—that providers

and other organizations can customize

and share through email, social media

and other channels. The Commission

also supports the idea raised by

commenters that to promote the EBB

Program, the Commission should work

closely with, among others,

Congressional offices, other Federal

agencies, state and local governments,

community organizations, schools, and

libraries.

132. The Commission also directs

USAC to develop and implement a

communications strategy, under the

oversight of the WCB and CGB, to

provide training and information

necessary to successfully participate in

the EBB Program to service providers—

both ETCs and non-ETCs, Tribal

communities and organizations,

associations and consumer advocates,

the E-Rate community, potential eligible

consumers, and the public at large. The

objective for the communications plan

should be to ensure that both current

and new stakeholders can learn about

and successfully participate in the EBB

Program and ensure discounts on

broadband service and connected

devices are efficiently and effectively

provided to eligible consumers. The

Commission anticipates that USAC’s

communications strategy will include a

dedicated, regularly updated web page

and other outreach methods including

webinars, bulletins, email campaigns,

and direct outreach to providers,

eligible consumers, Tribal communities,

schools, libraries, and other

organizations that serve EBB Program

eligible populations. The record

overwhelmingly supported such wide-

ranging communications efforts. To help

ensure that households are aware of

affordable broadband services for which

they may likely qualify, the Commission

directs USAC to coordinate with state

and Federal partners, and community

support organizations such as food

banks to promote the availability of

Lifeline as a supplement to the EBB

Program or as an option when the

benefit is eliminated. Indeed,

commenters urged the Commission and

USAC to work closely with

congressional offices, coordinate with

other Federal agencies, state and local

organization, Tribes, consumer-facing

agencies, trade associations, schools,

libraries, and hospitals that could assist

with educating low-income consumers

about the program and the provider

options that are available as a result.

The Commission strongly encourages

CGB, WCB, and USAC to incorporate

these recommendations into their

outreach efforts.

133. Lastly, the Commission strongly

encourages other Federal agencies, state

and local governments, groups, and

broadband offices, youth groups and

organizations, schools and libraries to

promote the EBB Program to eligible

households. The Colorado

Communications and Utility Alliance

(CCUA) emphasized that ‘‘local

governments have ability to promote the

EBBP through bill inserts, electronic

notification to customers, company

websites and social media.’’ The CCUA,

as well as the National Association of

Telecommunications Officers and

Advisors, pointed to the recent success

of local governments and community

organizations to provide a wide range of

pandemic related information to

citizens. Similarly, the City of

Longmont, Colorado reported that it

‘‘has an arsenal of tools at its disposal

to promote the availability of the EBBP,

and is prepared to utilize them to the

fullest extent.’’ Therefore, the

Commission agrees with commenters

that these entities that work with

program eligible populations would be

highly effective in raising awareness

about the EBB Program.

134. Audits. The CAA requires the

Commission to adopt audit

requirements to ensure that

participating providers are in

compliance with the program rules and

to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the

EBB Program. A finding of waste, fraud,

or abuse or an improper payment

identified by the Commission or the

Inspector General of the Commission

must include (1) the name of the

participating provider; (2) the amount of

funding made available from the EBB

Program to the provider; (3) the amount

of funding determined to be an

improper payment to the provider; (4) a

description of to what extent funding

made available from the EBB Program

that was an improper payment was used

for a reimbursement for a connected

devise or a reimbursement for an

internet service offering; (5) whether, in

the case of a connected device, such

device, or the value thereof, has been

recovered; (6) whether any funding from

the EBB Program was made available to

a participating provider for an

emergency broadband benefit for a

person outside the eligible household;

and (7) whether any funding from the

EBB Program was made available to

reimburse a participating provider for

an emergency broadband benefit made

available to an eligible household in

which all members of such household

necessary to satisfy the eligibility

requirements were deceased. Within

one year of the date of the enactment of

the CAA, the Commission’s Office of

Inspector General must conduct an

audit of the disbursements made to a

representative sample of participating

providers. The record generally

supported the use of audits to ensure

compliance and accountability in the

EBB Program. Multiple commenters

urged the Commission to adopt audit

requirements similar to those

procedures used in the Lifeline program

‘‘to ensure compliance and to prevent

waste, fraud, and abuse,’’ and to focus

its audit and fraud-prevention efforts on

rule violations that occur at scale and

that impact the largest number of

consumers.’’ Others contend that the

current Lifeline audit process requires

substantial reform or support a more

simplified version of the process that

does not impede participation by

households and providers or have an

adverse impact on customer privacy and

data security. Commenters agreed that

participating providers should be

required to collect and retain

documentation sufficient to support

compliance with any certifications and

that such record keeping requirements

should be clearly defined.

135. The Commission agrees with the

commenters that it is imperative to

require audits to confirm the integrity of

the EBB Program and prevent fraud,

waste, and abuse in the program. To that

end, the Commission delegates

authority to the OMD to develop and

implement an audit process of

participating providers that complies

with all requirements in sections

904(b)(7) and (8) of the CAA. OMD may

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obtain the assistance of third parties,

including but not limited to USAC, in

carrying out this effort. Consistent with

the Commission experience regarding

the Universal Service Fund, the

Commission finds that audits are the

most effective way to ensure compliance

with the Commission rule requirements.

136. Enforcement. The CAA provides

that a violation of its section 904, which

establishes the EBB Program, or any

regulation promulgated under that

section ‘‘shall be treated as a violation

of the Communications Act of 1934 or

a regulation promulgated under such

Act.’’ The Commission is compelled to

enforce this section and the associated

regulations ‘‘in the same manner, by the

same means, and with the same

jurisdiction, powers, and duties as

though all applicable terms and

provisions of the Communications act of

1934 were incorporated into and made

a part of this section.’’ In the Public

Notice, DA 21–6, the WCB sought

comment on the authority of the

Commission to impose administrative

forfeitures and other penalties on

program participants found to be in

violation of the program rules and

requirements. The record largely

supported the application of the

Commission’s existing enforcement

powers, including imposing

administrative forfeitures and other

penalties on participating providers that

violate the program rules and

requirements, to protect the integrity of

the EBB Program. The National Lifeline

Association urged that ‘‘[a]ny proposed

forfeitures under the [EBB Program]

rules should be based on reasonable

recoveries for rule violations and three

times the amount of harm to the [EBB

Program] (treble damages) for cases of

actual fraud.’’ T-Mobile argued that in

order to avoid discouraging providers

from participating in the EBB Program,

the Commission should not treat a

violation of its other rules as a basis for

withholding EBB Program funding from

participants. Consistent with this

statutory direction and the record, the

Commission decides to use the

Commission’s existing, statutorily

permitted enforcement powers to

initiate investigations and impose

administrative forfeitures. In addition,

the Commission would apply the

Commission’s suspension and

debarment rules currently applicable to

the USF program to EBB Program

participating providers. The

Commission would also withhold EBB

Program funds from participants found

to be in violation of the EBB Program

rules, if appropriate, and will also seek

to recoup improperly disbursed funds,

in addition to appropriate enforcement

penalties. The Commission finds that

these enforcement mechanisms

sufficiently balance the need for

widespread participation in the EBB

Program with the importance of

maintaining the program’s integrity.

137. Application of Other Part 54

Regulations. The Commission uses the

authority granted by the CAA to apply

portions of 47 CFR part 54—pertaining

to definitions, de-enrollment, program

integrity, and the use of USAC—to the

EBB Program.

138. Subpart E. Due to similarities

between the programs and the use of

certain USAC Lifeline systems to

administer the EBB Program, the

Commission elects to apply select

portions of the regulations that control

the Lifeline program to the EBB

Program. Specifically, the Commission

applies the following definitions in

§ 54.400 of the Commission’s rules to

the EBB Program, subject to the further

interpretations expounded upon in the

RO: (f) Income; (g) duplicative support;

(h) household; (i) National Lifeline

Accountability Database of Database; (j)

Qualifying assistance program; (k)

Direct service; (l) Broadband internet

access service; (o) National Lifeline

Eligibility Verifier; and (p) Enrollment

representatives. Maintaining uniform

definitions across the two programs will

facilitate a quick launch and efficient

administration for the Commission,

USAC, and participating providers.

What is more, the Commission limits

application of the Lifeline rules to those

specifically enumerated in the Order to

balance the need of ensuring that the

EBB Program has adequate guidelines

and parameters with the concern of

chilling participation by providing a

complex framework that may be

unfamiliar to new providers or serve as

a bar to participation in this temporary

program.

139. The Commission also elects to

apply relevant subsections of § 54.404 of

the Commission’s rules, outlining

carrier interactions with the NLAD, and

portions of § 54.405 of the Commission’s

rules to the EBB Program concerning

carrier obligations and de-enrollment.

Specifically, the Commission applies

§ 54.405(e)(1), (2), and (5) of the

Commission’s rules, for de-enrollments

generally, de-enrollments for

duplicative support, and de-enrollments

requested by the subscriber,

respectively. In the definition for de-

enrollment requested by the subscriber,

the Commission directs USAC to accept

and process de-enrollment requests

directly from EBB Program subscribers,

and to notify the subscriber’s provider

when such a de-enrollment occurs. This

additional method for de-enrollment by

subscribers will assist in administering

funds efficiently and provide further

certainty to participants regarding their

ability to transition out of this

temporary program.

140. For de-enrollment for non-usage,

however, the Commission adopts a

modified requirement—as permitted by

the CAA—to adapt to the unique

circumstances provided by the

pandemic, the limited duration of the

EBB Program, and the participation of

non-ETC providers that may not have

already designed processes to comport

with the specific Lifeline usage

requirements. Accordingly, the

Commission requires that providers

submit a certification in their

reimbursement claim that every

subscriber claimed has used their

supported service, as defined in

§ 54.407(c)(2) of the Commission’s rules,

at least once during the service month

being claimed. Providers must retain

documentation demonstrating the

subscriber monthly usage amounts to

support this certification. The

Commission does not adopt for the EBB

Program the notice and de-enrollment

process required in the Lifeline program

rules, but participating providers that

fail to resolve non-usage by households

enrolled in the EBB Program will be

unable to claim the program benefit for

those households. This modification

ensures that the limited funds provided

by the CAA will reach those whose

needs are greatest by protecting against

supporting unused service.

141. Additionally, the Commission

adopts for the EBB Program a

modification of the subscriber eligibility

determination and certification found in

§ 54.410 of the Commission’s rules, and

require all participating providers to

implement policies and procedures for

ensuring that their EBB Program

households are eligible to receive the

Emergency Broadband Benefit.

Accordingly, a provider may not

provide a consumer with an activated

device that it represents enables use of

Emergency Broadband Benefit-

supported service, nor may it activate

service that it represents to be

Emergency Broadband Benefit-

supported service, unless and until it

has: (1) Confirmed that the household is

an eligible household pursuant to

section III(B) of the RO, and; (2)

Completed the eligibility determination

and certification required by section

III(B) of the RO, and any other necessary

enrollment steps expounded upon in

the RO. We find that these preventative

measures provide a front-end guard

against the improper use of the limited

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funds provided by the CAA, and protect

against waste, fraud, and abuse.

142. To further ensure program

integrity, the Commission applies the

following sections of the Lifeline rules

to the EBB Program: § 54.407(a), (c)(2)(i)

through (v), (d) and (e) of the

Commission’s rules, pertaining to the

number of participants as of the first of

the month (snapshot), the definition of

service usage, reimbursement

certifications, and records; § 54.417 of

the Commission’s rules, pertaining to

recordkeeping requirements; and,

§ 54.419 of the Commission’s rules,

pertaining to the validity of e-signatures.

The Commission notes that these rule

sections, as applied to the EBB Program,

are the subject of more detailed

discussions in the RO. We also require

participating providers that use

enrollment representatives to comply

with the Representative Accountability

Database registration requirement

established in §§ 54.400(p) and

54.406(a) of the Commission’s rules.

Requiring registration for employees,

agents, contractors, or subcontractors of

participating providers or their third-

party entities prior to those personnel

providing information to the USAC

systems will bolster the security of the

system and help monitor for suspected

non-compliance in program activity.

However, the Commission declines to

apply § 54.406(b) of the Commission’s

rules to avoid discouraging provider

participation and diminishing consumer

choice in the EBB Program.

143. The record supports the use of

these Lifeline rules in implementing the

EBB Program, including the use of the

National Verifier, NLAD, RAD, snapshot

dates and process, and de-enrollment

requirements and deadlines. The

Commission agrees with commenters

that these established processes will

assist in the quick and efficient

implementation of the EBB Program

while protecting against waste, fraud,

and abuse.

144. Use of USAC. The Commission

also uses the authority granted by the

CAA to avail ourselves of USAC’s

services to implement the EBB Program,

including administering approvals and

elections of participating providers and

determinations of household eligibility,

including whether a household resides

on Tribal lands, by relying upon USAC-

administrated processes and systems,

including the National Verifier, NLAD,

RAD, and LCS for the provider

reimbursement process, call centers for

program support, provider and

consumer outreach, and conducting

program integrity reviews. The record

supported using USAC and its processes

for the efficient and effective

administration of the program, and the

Commission believes USAC’s

experience administering the Lifeline

program makes USAC uniquely situated

to be the administrator of the EBB

Program.

145. Subpart H. The Commission next

applies § 54.702(c) of the Commission’s

rules to the EBB Program as well,

preventing USAC from making policy,

interpreting unclear statutes or rules

relied upon to implement the EBB

Program, or interpreting the intent of

Congress. Additionally, the Commission

grants USAC the authority to conduct

program audits of contributors and

providers, as provided in § 54.707 of the

Commission’s rules. This grant,

however, is subject to the further

direction as set forth in section III(G) of

the RO.

146. Subpart I. Lastly, the

Commission provides a path for

recourse to parties aggrieved by

decisions issued by USAC. Specifically,

the Commission requires review of

decisions issued by USAC to follow the

requirements set forth in 47 CFR

Subpart I. The Commission finds these

existing processes sufficient to provide

meaningful review of decisions issued

by USAC during the EBB Program.

147. Delegations to the Bureau and

Office of Managing Director. The

Commission delegates authority to the

WCB and OMD to make necessary

adjustments to the program

administration and to provide

additional detail and specificity to the

requirements of the EBB Program to

conform with the intent of the RO and

ensure the efficient functioning of the

program.

148. In addition, the Commission

delegates financial oversight of the EBB

Program to the Commission’s Managing

Director and directs the OMD to work in

coordination with the WCB to ensure

that all financial aspects of the program

have adequate internal controls. These

duties fall within OMD’s current

delegated authority to ensure that the

Commission operates in accordance

with Federal financial statutes and

guidance. Such financial oversight must

be consistent with the rules adopted in

the RO. OMD performs this role with

respect to USAC’s administration of the

Commission’s Universal Service

programs, and the Covid–19 Telehealth

program, and the Commission

anticipates that OMD will leverage

existing policies and procedures, to the

extent practicable and consistent with

section 904 of the CAA, to ensure the

efficient and effective management of

the program. Finally, the Commission

notes that OMD is required to consult

with the WCB on any policy matters

affecting the program, consistent with

§ 0.91(a) of the Commission’s rules.

OMD, in coordination with the WCB,

may issue additional directions to

USAC and program participants in

furtherance of its responsibilities.

149. In its administration of the EBB

Program, USAC is directed to comply

with, on an ongoing basis, all applicable

laws and Federal government guidance

on privacy and information security

standards and requirements, such as the

Privacy Act, relevant provisions in the

Federal Information Security

Modernization Act of 2014, National

Institute of Standards and Technology

publications, and Office of Management

and Budget guidance.

150. The Commission recognizes that,

once implementation of the EBB

Program begins, the Commission or

USAC may encounter unforeseen issues

or problems with the administration

that will need to be resolved. To achieve

widespread participation by eligible

households in the EBB Program, the

Commission delegates this authority to

Commission staff to address and resolve

such issues.

III. Procedural Matters

A. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

151. Pursuant to section 904(h)(2) of

the Consolidated Appropriations Act,

the collection of information sponsored

or conducted under the regulations

promulgated in the Report and Order is

deemed not to constitute a collection of

information for the purposes of the

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.

3501–3521.

B. Congressional Review Act

152. The Commission has determined,

and the Administrator of the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB), concurs, that the regulations

implementing the EBB Program are a

‘‘major rule’’ under the Congressional

Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). By

exempting this rulemaking proceeding

from the notice and comment provisions

of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5

U.S.C. 553(b), the Commission

concludes that Congress has determined

notice and public procedure under the

Administrative Procedure Act to be

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary

to the public interest. In addition, the

exemption of this proceeding from the

Administrative Procedure Act

requirement that rules cannot become

effective until 30 days after publication

in the Federal Register, 5 U.S.C. 553(d),

demonstrates Congressional intent that

the rules the Commission adopt shall

become effective without delay.

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Accordingly, the Commission finds for

good cause that notice and public

procedure on the rules adopted herein

are impracticable, unnecessary, or

contrary to the public interest, and

therefore the Report and Order would

become effective April 13, 2021

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 808(2). The

Commission will send a copy of the

Report and Order to Congress and the

Government Accountability Office

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

153. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of

1980, as amended (RFA), requires that

an agency prepare a final regulatory

flexibility analysis ‘‘whenever an agency

promulgates a final rule under [5 U.S.C.

553], after being required by that section

or any other law to publish a general

notice of proposed rulemaking.’’

Pursuant to the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, section 553 does

not apply to the rulemaking proceeding

implementing the EBB Program.

Accordingly, no Final Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis was required for the

Report and Order.

IV. Ordering Clauses

154. Accordingly, it is ordered that,

pursuant to the authority contained in

Section 904 of Division N, Title IX of

the Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2021, Pub. L. No 116–260, 134 Stat.

1182, the Report and order is adopted.

155. It is further ordered that the

Commission shall send a copy of the

Report and Order to the Congress and

the Government Accountability Office

pursuant to the Congressional Review

Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

Communications common carriers,

Health facilities, Infants and children,

internet, Libraries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Schools,

Telecommunications, Telephone.

Federal Communications Commission

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary.

Final Rules

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Federal Communications

Commission amends 47 CFR part 54 as

follows:

PART 54—UNIVERSAL SERVICE

■1. The authority citation for part 54

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155, 201,

205, 214, 219, 220, 229, 254, 303(r), 403,

1004, 1302, and 1601–1609 unless otherwise

noted.

■2. Add subpart P to read as follows:

Subpart P—Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program

Sec.

54.1600 Definitions.

54.1601 Participating providers.

54.1602 Emergency Broadband Benefit.

54.1603 Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program support amount.

54.1604 Participating provider obligation to

offer Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program.

54.1605 Household qualification for

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

54.1606 Household eligibility

determinations.

54.1607 Enrollment representative

registration.

54.1608 Reimbursement for providing

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

discount.

54.1609 De-enrollment from the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program.

54.1610 Expiration of Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program.

54.1611 Recordkeeping requirements.

54.1612 Validity of electronic signatures.

Subpart P—Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program

§ 54.1600 Definitions.

(a) Broadband internet access service.

The term ‘‘broadband internet access

service’’ has the meaning given such

term in 47 CFR 8.1(b), or any successor

regulation.

(b) Broadband provider. The term

‘‘broadband provider’’ means a provider

of broadband internet access service.

(c) Commission. The term

‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal

Communications Commission.

(d) Connected device. The term

‘‘connected device’’ means a laptop or

desktop computer or a tablet.

(e) Designated as an eligible

telecommunications carrier. The term

‘‘designated as an eligible

telecommunications carrier’’, with

respect to a broadband provider, means

the broadband provider is designated as

an eligible telecommunications carrier

under section 214(e) of the

Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

214(e)).

(f) Direct service. As used in this

subpart, direct service means the

provision of service directly to the

qualifying low-income consumer.

(g) Duplicative support. ‘‘Duplicative

support’’ exists when an Emergency

Broadband Benefit subscriber is

receiving two or more Emergency

Broadband Benefit services concurrently

or two or more subscribers in a

household have received a connected

device with an Emergency Broadband

Benefit discount

(h) Eligible household. The term

‘‘eligible household’’ means, regardless

of whether the household or any

member of the household receives

support under subpart E of 47 CFR part

54 (or any successor regulation), and

regardless of whether any member of the

household has any past or present

arrearages with a broadband provider, a

household in which—

(1) At least one member of the

household meets the qualifications 47

CFR 54.409(a) or (b) (or any successor

regulation);

(2) At least one member of the

household has applied for and been

approved to receive benefits under the

free and reduced price lunch program

under the Richard B. Russell National

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et

seq.) or the school breakfast program

under section 4 of the Child Nutrition

Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773);

(3) At least one member of the

household has experienced a substantial

loss of income since February 29, 2020,

that is documented by layoff or furlough

notice, application for unemployment

insurance benefits, or similar

documentation or that is otherwise

verifiable through the National Verifier

or National Lifeline Accountability

Database;

(4) At least one member of the

household has received a Federal Pell

Grant under section 401 of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a)

in the current award year, if such award

is verifiable through the National

Verifier or National Lifeline

Accountability Database or the

participating provider verifies eligibility

under 47 CFR 54.1606(a)(2); or

(5) At least one member of the

household meets the eligibility criteria

for a participating provider’s existing

low-income or COVID–19 program,

subject to the requirements of 47 CFR

54.1606(a)(2).

(i) Emergency broadband benefit. The

term ‘‘emergency broadband benefit’’

means a monthly discount for an

eligible household applied to the actual

amount charged to such household,

which shall be no more than the

standard rate for an internet service

offering and associated equipment, in an

amount equal to such amount charged,

but not more than $50, or, if an internet

service offering is provided to an

eligible household on Tribal land, not

more than $75.

(j) Emergency period. The term

‘‘emergency period’’ means the period

that—

(1) Begins on the date of the

enactment of the Consolidated

Appropriations Act; and

(2) Ends on the date that is 6 months

after the date on which the

determination by the Secretary of Health

and Human Services pursuant to section

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319 of the Public Health Service Act (42

U.S.C. 247d) that a public health

emergency exists as a result of COVID–

19, including any renewal thereof,

terminates.

(k) Enrollment representative. An

employee, agent, contractor, or

subcontractor, acting on behalf of an

eligible telecommunications carrier or

third-party entity, who directly or

indirectly provides information to the

Administrator for the purpose of

eligibility verification, enrollment,

subscriber personal information

updates, benefit transfers, or de-

enrollment.

(l) Household. A ‘‘household’’ is any

individual or group of individuals who

are living together at the same address

as one economic unit. A household may

include related and unrelated persons.

An ‘‘economic unit’’ consists of all adult

individuals contributing to and sharing

in the income and expenses of a

household. An adult is any person

eighteen years or older. If an adult has

no or minimal income, and lives with

someone who provides financial

support to him/her, both people shall be

considered part of the same household.

Children under the age of eighteen

living with their parents or guardians

are considered to be part of the same

household as their parents or guardians.

(m) Income. ‘‘Income’’ means gross

income as defined under section 61 of

the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 61,

for all members of the household. This

means all income actually received by

all members of the household from

whatever source derived, unless

specifically excluded by the Internal

Revenue Code, Part III of Title 26, 26

U.S.C. 101 et seq.

(n) Internet service offering. The term

‘‘internet service offering’’ means, with

respect to a broadband provider,

broadband internet access service

provided by such provider to a

household, offered in the same manner,

and on the same terms, as described in

any of such provider’s offerings for

broadband internet access service to

such household, as on December 1,

2020.

(o) Lifeline qualifying assistance

program. A ‘‘Lifeline qualifying

assistance program’’ means any of the

Federal or Tribal assistance programs

the participation in which, pursuant to

47 CFR 54.409(a) or (b), qualifies a

consumer for Lifeline service, including

Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program; Supplemental

Security Income; Federal Public

Housing Assistance; Veterans and

Survivors Pension Benefit; Bureau of

Indian Affairs general assistance;

Tribally administered Temporary

Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal

TANF); Head Start (only those

households meeting its income

qualifying standard); or the Food

Distribution Program on Indian

Reservations (FDPIR).

(p) National Lifeline Accountability

Database. The ‘‘National Lifeline

Accountability Database’’ is an

electronic system, with associated

functions, processes, policies and

procedures, to facilitate the detection

and elimination of duplicative support,

as directed by the Commission.

(q) National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier

or National Verifier. The ‘‘National

Lifeline Eligibility Verifier’’ or

‘‘National Verifier’’ is an electronic and

manual system with associated

functions, processes, policies and

procedures, to facilitate the

determination of consumer eligibility

for the Lifeline program and Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program, as directed

by the Commission.

(r) Participating provider. The term

‘‘participating provider’’ means a

broadband provider that—

(1)(i) Is designated as an eligible

telecommunications carrier; or

(ii) Meets requirements established by

the Commission for participation in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

and is approved by the Commission

under 47 CFR 54.1601(b); and

(2) Elects to participate in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(s) Standard rate. The term ‘‘standard

rate’’ means the monthly retail rate for

the applicable tier of broadband internet

access service as of December 1, 2020,

excluding any taxes or other

governmental fees.

(t) Tribal lands. For purposes of this

subpart, ‘‘Tribal lands’’ include any

Federally recognized Indian tribe’s

reservation, pueblo, or colony,

including former reservations in

Oklahoma; Alaska Native regions

established pursuant to the Alaska

Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat.

688); Indian allotments; Hawaiian Home

Lands—areas held in trust for Native

Hawaiians by the state of Hawaii,

pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes

Commission Act, 1920 July 9, 1921, 42

Stat. 108, et seq., as amended; and any

land designated as such by the

Commission for purposes of subpart E of

47 CFR part 54 (or any successor

regulation) pursuant to the designation

process in 47 CFR 54.412.

§ 54.1601 Participating providers.

(a) Eligible telecommunications

carriers. A broadband provider that is

designated as an eligible

telecommunications carrier may

participate in the Emergency Benefit

Broadband Program as a participating

provider.

(b) Other broadband providers. A

broadband provider that is not

designated as an eligible

telecommunications carrier may seek

approval from the Wireline Competition

Bureau to participate in the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program as a

participating provider.

(1) The Wireline Competition Bureau

shall review and act on applications to

be designated as a participating provider

on an expedited basis. Such

applications shall contain:

(i) The states or territories in which

the provider plans to participate;

(ii) The service areas in which the

provider has the authority, if needed, to

operate in each state or territory, but has

not been designated an eligible

telecommunications carrier; and,

(iii) Certifications and documentation

of the provider’s plan to combat waste,

fraud, and abuse.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1)

of this section, the Wireline

Competition Bureau shall automatically

approve as a participating provider a

broadband provider that has an

established program as of April 1, 2020,

that is widely available and offers

internet service offerings to eligible

households and maintains verification

processes that are sufficient to avoid

fraud, waste, and abuse. Such

applications seeking automatic approval

shall contain:

(i) The states or territories in which

the provider plans to participate;

(ii) The service areas in which the

provider has the authority, if needed, to

operate in each state or territory, but has

not been designated an Eligible

Telecommunications Carrier; and,

(iii) A description, supported by

documentation, of the established

program with which the provider seeks

to qualify for automatic admission to the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(c) Election notice. All participating

providers must file an election notice

with the Administrator. The election

notice must be submitted in a manner

and form consistent with the direction

of the Wireline Competition Bureau and

the Administrator. At a minimum the

election notice should contain:

(1) The states or territories in which

the provider plans to participate in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program;

(2) A statement that, in each state or

territory, the provider was a ‘‘broadband

provider’’ as of December 1, 2020;

(3) A list of states or territories where

the provider is an existing Eligible

Telecommunications Carrier, if any;

(4) A list of states or territories where

the provider received Wireline

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Competition Bureau approval, whether

automatic or expedited, to participate, if

any;

(5) Whether the provider intends to

distribute connected devices;

(6) A description of the internet

service offerings for which the provider

plans to seek reimbursement in each

state or territory; and,

(7) Documentation demonstrating the

standard rates for those services in each

state; and any other information

necessary to establish participating

providers in the Administrator’s

systems.

(d) Suspension and debarment. The

prohibition on participation and

suspension and debarment rules

established in 47 CFR 54.8, shall apply

to activities associated with or related to

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program.

§ 54.1602 Emergency Broadband Benefit.

(a) The Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program shall provide reimbursement to

a participating provider for providing a

discount on the price of broadband

internet access service (and associated

equipment), a connected device, or

both, to an eligible household during

the emergency period.

(b) Participating providers may allow

consumers whose households qualify

for the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program pursuant to 47 CFR 54.1605, to

apply the Emergency Broadband Benefit

to any residential service plan that

includes broadband internet access

service or a bundle of broadband

internet access service along with fixed

or mobile voice telephony service, text

messaging service, or both.

§ 54.1603 Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program support amount.

(a) The Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program support amount for all

participating providers shall equal the

actual discount provided to an eligible

household off of the actual amount

charged to such household, which shall

be no more than the standard rate for an

internet service offering and associated

equipment, but not more than $50.00

per month, if that provider certifies that

it will pass through the full amount of

support to the eligible household, or not

more than $75.00 per month, if that

provider certifies that it will pass

through the full amount of support to

the eligible household on Tribal lands,

as defined in 47 CFR 54.1600(t).

(b) A participating provider that, in

addition to providing the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program to an

eligible household, supplies such

household with a connected device may

be reimbursed up to $100.00 for such

connected device, if the charge to such

eligible household is more than $10.00

but less than $50.00 for such connected

device, except that a participating

provider may receive reimbursement for

no more than one (1) connected device

per eligible household.

(c) If the amount of funding remaining

in the Emergency Broadband

Connectivity Fund is less than the total

amount of valid reimbursement claims

in the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program, the support amount for all

participating providers submitting valid

reimbursement claims for a month may

be less than the full support amount

permitted under this section.

§ 54.1604 Participating provider obligation

to offer Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program.

(a) All participating providers in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

must make available the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program to

qualifying low-income consumers.

(b) All participating providers in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

are encouraged to:

(1) Publicize the availability of the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

in a manner reasonably designed to

reach those likely to qualify for the

service.

(2) Indicate on all materials describing

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program, using easily understood

language in the dominant languages of

the communities the provider serves:

(i) The eligibility requirements for

consumer participation;

(ii) That the Emergency Broadband

Benefit is non-transferable and is

limited to one discount per household;

(iii) The monetary charges to the

customer;

(iv) The available upload/download

speeds and data caps for the covered

services, and a list of connected devices,

if any, with descriptions;

(v) The provider’s customer service

telephone number, which must be

prominently displayed on all

promotional materials and adequately

staffed by customer service

representatives; and

(vi) That the Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program is a temporary

emergency Federal Government benefit

program operated by the Federal

Communications Commission and,

upon its conclusion, customers will be

subject to the provider’s regular rates,

terms, and conditions.

§ 54.1605 Household qualification for

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(a) To constitute an eligible

household:

(1) The household income as defined

in 47 CFR 54.1600(m) must be at or

below 135% of the Federal Poverty

Guidelines for a household of that size;

or

(2) At least one member of the

household must receive benefits from

one of the following Federal assistance

programs: Medicaid; Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program;

Supplemental Security Income; Federal

Public Housing Assistance; or Veterans

and Survivors Pension Benefit; or

(3) At least one member of the

household has applied for and been

approved to receive benefits under the

free and reduced price lunch program

under the Richard B. Russell National

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et

seq.) or the school breakfast program

under section 4 of the Child Nutrition

Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); or

(4) At least one member of the

household has experienced a substantial

loss of income since February 29, 2020,

that is documented by layoff or furlough

notice, application for unemployment

insurance benefits, or similar

documentation or that is otherwise

verifiable through the National Verifier;

or

(5) At least one member of the

household has received a Federal Pell

Grant under section 401 of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a)

in the current award year, if such award

is verifiable through the National

Verifier or the participating provider

verifies eligibility under 47 CFR

54.1606(a)(2); or

(6) At least one member of the

household meets the eligibility criteria

for a participating provider’s existing

low-income or COVID–19 program,

subject to the requirements of 47 CFR

54.1606(a)(2); or

(7) If the household is located on

Tribal lands, at least one member of the

household participates in one of the

following Tribal-specific Federal

assistance programs: Bureau of Indian

Affairs general assistance; Tribally

administered Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families; Head Start (only those

households meeting its income

qualifying standard); or the Food

Distribution Program on Indian

Reservations.

(b) In addition to meeting the

qualifications provided in paragraph (a)

of this section, in order to constitute an

eligible household, no member of the

household may already be receiving an

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

discount.

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§ 54.1606 Household eligibility

determinations.

(a) Eligibility verification processes.

To verify whether a household is an

eligible household, a participating

provider shall—

(1) Use the National Verifier; or

(2) Rely upon an alternative

verification process of the participating

provider, if—

(i) The participating provider submits

information as required by the

Commission regarding the alternative

verification process prior to seeking

reimbursement; and

(ii) Not later than 7 days after

receiving the information required

under paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section,

the Wireline Competition Bureau—

(A) Determines that the alternative

verification process will be sufficient to

avoid waste, fraud, and abuse; and

(B) Notifies the participating provider

of the determination under paragraph

(a)(2)(ii)(A) of this section; or

(3) Rely on a school to verify the

eligibility of a household based on the

participation of the household in the

free and reduced price lunch program or

the school breakfast program as

described in 47 CFR 54.1600(h)(2). The

participating provider must retain

documentation demonstrating the

school verifying eligibility, the

program(s) that the school participates

in, the qualifying household, and the

program(s) the household participates

in.

(b) Provider policies and procedures.

All participating providers must

implement policies and procedures for

ensuring that their Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program households

are eligible to receive the Emergency

Broadband Benefit. A provider may not

provide a consumer with service that it

represents to be Emergency Broadband

Benefit-supported service or seek

reimbursement for such service, unless

and until it has:

(1) Confirmed that the household is

an eligible household pursuant to 47

CFR 54.1605;

(2) Completed any other necessary

enrollment steps, and;

(3) Securely retained all information

and documentation it receives related to

the eligibility determination and

enrollment, consistent with 47 CFR

54.1611.

(c) One-Per-Household Worksheet. If

the prospective household shares an

address with one or more existing

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

subscribers according to the National

Lifeline Accountability Database or

National Verifier, the prospective

subscriber must complete a form

certifying compliance with the one-per-

household rule prior to initial

enrollment.

(d) The National Lifeline

Accountability Database. In order to

receive Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program support, participating

providers must comply with the

following requirements:

(1) All participating providers must

query the National Lifeline

Accountability Database to determine

whether a prospective subscriber is

currently receiving an Emergency

Broadband Benefit-supported service

from another participating provider; and

whether anyone else living at the

prospective subscriber’s residential

address is currently receiving an

Emergency Broadband Benefit-

supported service.

(2) If the National Lifeline

Accountability Database indicates that a

prospective subscriber who is not

seeking to transfer his or her Emergency

Broadband Benefit, is currently

receiving an Emergency Broadband

Benefit-supported service, the

participating provider must not provide

and shall not seek or receive Emergency

Broadband Benefit reimbursement for

that subscriber.

(3) Participating providers may query

the National Lifeline Accountability

Database only for the purposes provided

in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this

section, and to determine whether

information with respect to its

subscribers already in the National

Lifeline Accountability Database is

correct and complete.

(4) Participating providers must

transmit to the National Lifeline

Accountability Database in a format

prescribed by the Administrator each

new and existing Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program subscriber’s full name;

full residential address; date of birth;

the telephone number associated with

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program service; the date on which the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

discount was initiated; the date on

which the Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program discount was

terminated, if it has been terminated;

the amount of support being sought for

that subscriber; and the means through

which the subscriber qualified for the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(5) All participating providers must

update an existing Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program subscriber’s

information in the National Lifeline

Accountability Database within ten

business days of receiving any change to

that information, except as described in

paragraph (d)(7) of this section.

(6) All participating providers must

obtain, from each new and existing

subscriber, consent to transmit the

subscriber’s information. Prior to

obtaining consent, the participating

provider must describe to the

subscriber, using clear, easily

understood language, the specific

information being transmitted, that the

information is being transmitted to the

Administrator to ensure the proper

administration of the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program, and that

failure to provide consent will result in

subscriber being denied the Emergency

Broadband Benefit.

(7) When a participating provider de-

enrolls a subscriber from the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program, it must

transmit to the National Lifeline

Accountability Database the date of

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

de-enrollment within one business day

of de-enrollment.

(8) All participating providers must

securely retain subscriber

documentation that the participating

provider reviewed to verify subscriber

eligibility, for the purposes of

production during audits or

investigations or to the extent required

by National Lifeline Accountability

Database or National Verifier processes,

which require, inter alia, verification of

eligibility, identity, address, and age.

(9) A participating provider must not

enroll or claim for reimbursement a

prospective subscriber in the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program if the

National Lifeline Accountability

Database or National Verifier cannot

verify the subscriber’s status as alive,

unless the subscriber produces

documentation to demonstrate his or

her identity and status as alive.

(e) Connected device reimbursement

and the National Lifeline Accountability

Database. In order to receive Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program

reimbursement for a connected device,

participating providers must comply

with the following requirements:

(1) Such participating provider must

query the National Lifeline

Accountability Database to determine

whether a prospective connected device

benefit recipient has previously

received a connected device benefit.

(2) If the National Lifeline

Accountability Database indicates that a

prospective subscriber has received a

connected device benefit, the

participating provider must not seek a

connected device reimbursement for

that subscriber.

(3) Such participating provider shall

not seek a connected device

reimbursement for a subscriber that is

not receiving the Emergency Broadband

Benefit for service provided by the same

participating provider.

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(4) Where two or more participating

providers file a claim for a connected

device reimbursement for the same

subscriber, only the participating

provider whose information was

received and processed by the National

Lifeline Accountability Database or

Lifeline Claims System first, as

determined by the Administrator, will

be entitled to a connected device

reimbursement for that subscriber.

(5) All participating providers must

obtain from each subscriber consent to

transmit the information required under

paragraph (e)(1) of this section. Prior to

obtaining consent, the participating

provider must describe to the

subscriber, using clear, easily

understood language, the specific

information being transmitted, that the

information is being transmitted to the

Administrator to ensure the proper

administration of the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program connected

device benefit, and that failure to

provide consent will result in the

subscriber being denied the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program connected

device benefit.

§ 54.1607 Enrollment representative

registration.

Enrollment representative

registration. A participating provider

must require that enrollment

representatives register with the

Administrator before the enrollment

representative can provide information

directly or indirectly to the National

Lifeline Accountability Database or the

National Verifier.

(a) As part of the registration process,

participating providers must require

that all enrollment representatives

provide the Administrator with

identifying information, which may

include first and last name, date of

birth, the last four digits of his or her

social security number, email address,

and residential address. Enrollment

representatives will be assigned a

unique identifier, which must be used

for:

(1) Accessing the National Lifeline

Accountability Database;

(2) Accessing the National Verifier;

(3) Accessing any eligibility database;

and

(4) Completing any Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program enrollment

or verification forms.

(b) Participating providers must

ensure that enrollment representatives

shall not use another person’s unique

identifier to enroll Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program subscribers,

recertify Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program subscribers, or access the

National Lifeline Accountability

Database or National Verifier.

(c) Participating providers must

ensure that enrollment representatives

shall regularly recertify their status with

the Administrator to maintain their

unique identifier and maintain access to

the systems that rely on a valid unique

identifier. Participating providers must

also ensure that enrollment

representatives shall update their

registration information within 30 days

of any change in such information.

§ 54.1608 Reimbursement for providing

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

discount.

(a) Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program support for providing a

qualifying broadband internet access

service shall be provided directly to a

participating provider based on the

number of actual qualifying low-income

households listed in the National

Lifeline Accountability Database that

the participating provider serves

directly as of the first of the month.

(b) For each eligible household

receiving Emergency Broadband

Benefit-supported service, the

reimbursement amount shall equal the

appropriate support amount as

described in 47 CFR 54.1603, except as

otherwise provided by 47 CFR

54.1603(c). The participating provider’s

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

reimbursement shall not exceed the

participating provider’s standard rate for

that offering.

(c) A participating provider offering

an Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program service with a standard rate

that does not require the participating

provider to assess and collect a monthly

fee from its subscribers must certify that

every subscriber claimed has used their

supported service, as defined by 47 CFR

54.407(c)(2), at least once during the

service month being claimed prior in

order to claim that subscriber for

reimbursement in that month.

(d) A participating provider that, in

addition to providing the Emergency

Broadband Benefit to an eligible

household, provides such household

with a connected device may be

reimbursed up to $100.00 for such

connected device, if the charge to such

eligible household is more than $10.00

but less than $50.00 for such connected

device, except that a participating

provider may receive reimbursement for

no more than one (1) connected device

per eligible household.

(e) In order to receive Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program

reimbursement, an officer of the

participating provider must certify, as

part of each request for reimbursement,

that:

(1) The officer is authorized to submit

the request on behalf of the participating

provider;

(2) The officer has read the

instructions relating to reimbursements

and the funds sought in the

reimbursement request are for services

and/or devices that were provided in

accordance with the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program rules and

requirements;

(3) The participating provider is in

compliance with all of the rules in this

subpart;

(4) The participating provider has

obtained valid certification and

application forms as required by the

rules in this subpart for each of the

subscribers for whom it is seeking

reimbursement;

(5) The amount for which the

participating provider is seeking

reimbursement from the Emergency

Broadband Connectivity Fund is not

more than the standard rate;

(6) Each eligible household for which

the participating provider is seeking

reimbursement for providing an internet

service offering—

(i) Has not been and will not be

charged—

(A) For such offering, if the standard

rate for such offering is less than or

equal to the amount of the emergency

broadband benefit for such household;

or

(B) More for such offering than the

difference between the standard rate for

such offering and the amount of the

emergency broadband benefit for such

household;

(ii) Will not be required to pay an

early termination fee if such eligible

household elects to enter into a contract

to receive such internet service offering

if such household later terminates such

contract;

(iii) Was not, after the date of the

enactment of the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, subject to a

mandatory waiting period for such

internet service offering based on having

previously received broadband internet

access service from such participating

provider; and

(iv) Will otherwise be subject to the

participating provider’s generally

applicable terms and conditions as

applied to other customers.

(7) Each eligible household for which

the participating provider is seeking

reimbursement for supplying such

household with a connected device was

charged by the provider more than

$10.00 but less than $50.00 for such

connected device;

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(8) That the connected device claimed

meets the Commission’s requirements,

that the reimbursement claim amount

reflects the market value of the device,

and that the connected device has been

delivered to the household;

(9) The process used by the

participating provider to verify that a

household is eligible for the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program, if the

provider elects an alternative

verification process and that such

verification process was designed to

avoid waste, fraud, and abuse.

(10) The provider has retained the

relevant supporting documents that

demonstrate the connected devices

requested are eligible for

reimbursement;

(11) All documentation associated

with the reimbursement form, including

all records for services and/or connected

devices provided, will be retained for a

period of at least six years after the last

date of delivery of the supported

services and/or connected devices

provided through the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program, and are

subject to audit;

(12) The provider neither received nor

paid kickbacks, as defined by 41 U.S.C.

8701, in connection with the Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program;

(13) The information contained in this

form is true, complete, and accurate to

the best of the officer’s knowledge,

information, and belief, and is based on

information known to the officer or

provided to officer by employees

responsible for the information being

submitted;

(14) The officer is aware that any

false, fictitious, or fraudulent

information, or the omission of any

material fact, may subject the officer to

criminal, civil, or administrative

penalties for fraud, false statements,

false claims, or otherwise. (18 U.S.C.

286–287, 1001, 1341, 31 U.S.C. 3729–

3730, 3801–3812.); and

(15) No service costs or devices

sought for reimbursement have been

waived, paid, or promised to be paid by

another entity, including any Federal

program.

(f) In order to receive Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program

reimbursement, a participating provider

must keep accurate records of the

revenues it forgoes in providing

Emergency Broadband Benefit-

supported services. Such records shall

be kept in the form directed by the

Administrator and provided to the

Administrator at intervals as directed by

the Administrator or as provided in this

subpart.

(g) In order to receive reimbursement,

participating providers shall submit

certified reimbursement claims through

Lifeline Claims System by the 15th of

each month, or the following business

day in the event the 15th is a holiday

or falls on a weekend. If the

participating provider fails to submit a

certified reimbursement claim by the

deadline for that month, the

reimbursement claim will not be

processed.

§ 54.1609 De-enrollment from the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(a) De-enrollment generally. If a

participating provider has a reasonable

basis to believe that an Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program subscriber

does not meet or no longer meets the

criteria to be considered an eligible

household under 47 CFR 54.1605, the

participating provider must notify the

subscriber of impending termination of

his or her Emergency Broadband Benefit

discount. Notification of impending

termination must be sent in writing

separate from the subscriber’s monthly

bill, if one is provided, and must be

written in clear, easily understood

language. The participating provider

must allow a subscriber 30 days

following the date of the impending

termination letter to demonstrate

continued eligibility. A subscriber

making such a demonstration must

present proof of continued eligibility to

the National Verifier or the participating

provider consistent with the

participating provider’s approved

alternative verification process. A

participating provider must de-enroll

any subscriber who fails to demonstrate

eligibility within five business days

after the expiration of the subscriber’s

deadline to respond.

(b) De-enrollment for duplicative

support. Notwithstanding paragraph (a)

of this section, upon notification by the

Administrator to any participating

provider that a subscriber is receiving

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

discount from another participating

provider, or that more than one member

of a subscriber’s household is receiving

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

discount and that the subscriber should

be de-enrolled from participation in that

provider’s Emergency Broadband

Benefit program, the participating

provider must de-enroll the subscriber

from participation in that provider’s

Emergency Broadband Benefit discount

within five business days. A

participating provider shall not claim

any de-enrolled subscriber for

Emergency Broadband Benefit

reimbursement following the date of

that subscriber’s de-enrollment.

(c) De-enrollment requested by

subscriber. If a participating provider

receives a request from a subscriber to

de-enroll, it must de-enroll the

subscriber within two business days

after the request.

§ 54.1610 Expiration of Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program.

(a) Prior to the conclusion of the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program,

the Administrator will notify

participating providers of the projected

final service month for which

participating providers will be eligible

to receive reimbursement for valid

reimbursement claims submitted

pursuant to 47 CFR 54.1608. In that

final month when valid reimbursement

claims exceed remaining funds, the

amount disbursed for both service and

connected device claims to participating

providers will be reduced on a pro-rata

basis but will be no less than 50% of the

total support amount for timely filed

claims for service and connected

devices provided to households.

(b) Concurrent with release of the

notice by the Administrator pursuant to

paragraph (a) of this section, no new

households shall be enrolled in the

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

(c) No later than 15 days after the

Administrator provides notice pursuant

to paragraph (a) of this section,

participating providers shall give notice

to subscribers receiving the Emergency

Broadband Benefit of the last date or

service month that the full benefit will

apply to the household’s bill, the last

date or service month that the partial,

final-month benefit will apply to their

bill, and the expected rate of the

broadband service once the benefit

expires.

(d) At least 30 days before the end of

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program, as indicated in the notice sent

by the Administrator pursuant to

paragraph (a) of this section,

participating providers must notify

households about the upcoming end to

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program and clearly state that the

household will be subject to the

participating provider’s generally

applicable terms and conditions at the

conclusion of the Emergency Broadband

Benefit Program if the household elects

to continue receiving broadband service

from the participating provider.

§ 54.1611 Recordkeeping requirements.

Participating providers must maintain

records to document compliance with

all Commission requirements governing

the Emergency Broadband Benefit

Program for the six full preceding

calendar years and provide that

documentation to the Commission or

Administrator upon request.

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19566

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations

Participating providers must maintain

the documentation related to the

eligibility determination and

reimbursement claims for an Emergency

Broadband Benefit Program subscriber

for as long as the subscriber receives the

Emergency Broadband Benefit discount

from that participating provider, but for

no less than the six full preceding

calendar years.

§ 54.1612 Validity of electronic signatures.

(a) For the purposes of this subpart,

an electronic signature, defined by the

Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act, as an

electronic sound, symbol, or process,

attached to or logically associated with

a contract or other record and executed

or adopted by a person with the intent

to sign the record, has the same legal

effect as a written signature.

(b) For the purposes of this subpart,

an electronic record, defined by the

Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act as a contract or

other record created, generated, sent,

communicated, received, or stored by

electronic means, constitutes a record.

[FR Doc. 2021–07456 Filed 4–12–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

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Published date	13 April 2021
Citation	86 FR 19532
Record Number	2021-07456
Section	Rules and Regulations
Court	Federal Communications Commission

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

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