BEFORE THE OREGON PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION COMMENTS OF TRACFONE WIRELESS INC.

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Martha French
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1 BEFORE THE OREGON PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION In the Matter of Rule Changes Regarding Eligibility for OT AP and Other RSPF Rule Changes ) ) ) Docket AR-574 COMMENTS OF TRACFONE IRELESS INC. TracFone ireless Inc. d/b/a SafeLink ("TracFone") hereby submits its Comments on the Oregon Public Utility Commission ("Commission" or "OPUC") in response to the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Hearing of July 13, (2) - OTAP and Lifeline Applicability Section (2) of this rule requires an ETP to offer a Lifeline discount to all subscribers that meet the eligibility requirements, and to apply the discount to all service offerings that include basic voice service. TracFone was granted a partial waiver of this requirement in its' ETC designation order (See UM-1437, Order ), and has filed a petition seeking extension of this waiver. Based on TracFone's experience in the Lifeline market, it has determined that many service plans would be uncompetitive as Lifeline offerings, and that enrollment levels for these plans would not justify the development costs necessary to adapt them for Lifeline. ireless Lifeline today is a highly competitive business, and TracFone believes carriers should be given leeway to offer those services they believe will find the best reception in the marketplace. TracFone would suggest the Commission either eliminate (2), or limit it to wire line carriers.

2 (2)(c), OTAP and Lifeline Applicability This section requires the ETP to allow customers to retain an out of state phone number when applying for benefits in Oregon. As the other carriers have noted, this requirement is problematic for a number of reasons. In addition to the legal issues relating to number portability and technical issues raised by AT&T, T-Mobile and Boomerang, TracFone would note the requirement would potentially require the ETP to provide Lifeline service to numbers in area codes where the ETP has not been designated as a Lifeline provider. This could also create technical problems for USAC's implementation of the National Lifeline Accountability Database, since the database uses customer phone number as one ifits identifying data fields. TracFone opposes this requirement (4), OT AP and Lifeline Eligibility This rule requires customers to provide their social security number as a condition of enrollment in Lifeline. TracFone would support AT&T's comments on this item, and urge the Commission to clarify that they require only the last four digits of the social security number (6) - OT AP and Lifeline Eligibility Section 6 of this rule requires the Commission to verify a customer's eligibility every 90 days if that customer emolls using a temporary address. This rule replicates 47 CFR (g) of the FCC Lifeline Reform Order, except that the requirement is placed on the Commission rather than the ETP. However, this rule has never gone into effect. It was rejected by the Office of Management and Budget, pursuant to the Paperwork 2

3 Reduction Act on April 13, The proposed (6) could be read as creating a state requirement replacing this rule. This is highly inadvisable, as the 90 day verification requirement is simply impossible to carry out successfully. As shown in last January's FCC Form 555 Filings, verification may result in low response rates, even when done on an annual basis, and with current mailing addresses available. Attempting to execute this requirement every 90 days on temporary addresses would result in massive attrition to the program. It is notable that, to date, the FCC has taken no action to resubmit the 90 day verification requirement (3) - OT AP and Lifeline Benefits The section requires a customer to call the ETP to activate their Lifeline service, and provide the last four digits of their social security number (presumably as a form of identity verification). TracFone opposes this requirement. Providing for handset activation in this fashion would create significant development requirements in provisioning and customer service, in support of a requirement which would only exist in Oregon. In Oregon, the OPUC has already determined a customer's eligibility and address upon application. Thus the only purpose for such a requirement to be to prevent handset activation in the rare event that mail is misdirected or stolen. In most cases, however, if a customer fails to receive their handset, they will contact customer service, and the loss will be noted. The burden on carriers is not justified by the trivial benefits (2)(b) - Advertising, Marketing and Outreach TracFone has no objection to informing customers that Lifeline is a government assistance program. It does so now, pursuant to federal requirements set forth at 47 CFR ( c). However, it must object to the requirements that this language be placed in 3

4 larger font. The legal disclosures and certification requirements imposed by state and federal law for Lifeline applications are extensive. Packing all of the necessary language into a convenient form is difficult, and generally requires some accommodation with font sizes. Secondly, it's not clear why the disclosure that Lifeline is "government assistance" should demand particularly prominent font, but other requirements (such as the arguably more important one-per-household rule) should not. Thirdly, the definition of "marketing materials" is expansive enough that it would impact a great deal of media which is not Oregon specific. TracFone cannot tailor national television advertisements to Oregon requirements, nor is there an Oregon specific version ofthe internet. TracFone would suggest Oregon default to the federal rules on disclosures for marketing materials (4) - Advertising, Marketing and Outreach Section 4 of this rule prohibits ETP's from using agents (which are defined expansively as "a contractor, dealer or representative") to solicit potential customers for Lifeline supported services, and prohibits agents from submitting applications on behalf of potential customers. This proposed rule goes far beyond the FCC Lifeline Reform Order. Partnerships with community organizations, managed care organizations, and state and local agencies are essential to reaching Lifeline eligible members of the public; TiacFone provide Lifeline service without them. Field agents are also a crucial marketing tool To the extent the Commission objects to certain marketing practices, TracFone would suggest narrowly tailored rules to address those issues. In addition, the fact that all applications must be approved by the Commission should greatly limit the potential for fraud by agents. 4

5 Respectfully submitted this 13 th day of November, ::;; Stephen Athanson Regulatory Counsel TRACFONE IRELESS INC N.. llih Avenue Miami, FL (305)

6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 13th day of November, 2013, I served the foregoing Comments by TracFone ireless in the above entitled docket on the following persons via U.S. Mail, by mailing a correct copy to them in a sealed envelope, with postage prepaid, addressed to them at the address shown below, or via only if the service list indicates such persons waive paper service.: AT&T ANN SAGERSON 208 S. AKARD ST GENERAL ATTORNEY DALLAS TX ann.sagerson@att.com AT&T SERVICES INC DAVID COLLIER 645 E PLUMB LNM RN C-142 AREA MANAGER- POBOX REGULATORY RELATIONS RENO NY david.collier@att.com AT&T SERVICES, INC. SHARON L MULLIN 2003 POINT BLUFF DIRECTOR--EXTERNAL AUSTIN TX AFFAIRS slmullin@att.com CENTURYLINK RON L TRULLINGER 310 S PARK AVE 1 ITH FL MANAGER - OREGON PORTLAND OR REGULATORY ron.trullinger@centurylink.com CITIZENS' UTILITY BOARD OF OREGON OPUC DOCKETS 610 SBROADAY, STE400 PORTLAND OR dockets@oregoncub.org SOMMER TEMPLET 610 S BROADAY, STE. 400 PORTLAND OR sommer@oregoncub.org COMSPAN COMMUNICATIONS INC MICHELLE ELKINS 278 N GARDEN V ALLEY BLVD ROSEBURG OR michellee@comspancomm.com DAVIS RIGHT TERMAINE LLP ALAN J GALLOAY 1300 S FIFTH AVENUE PORTLAND OR

7 DAVIS RIGHT TREMAINE LLP MARK P TRINCHERO 1300 S FIFTH AVE STE 2300 PORTLAND OR marktrinchero@dwt.com FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS NORTHEST INC RENEE ILLER N VON NEUMANN DR BEAVERTON OR renee.willer@ftr.com OREGON TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSN BRANT OLF TH ST SE - STE 120 SALEM OR bwolf@ota-telecom.org PUC STAFF-DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JOHANNA RIEMENSCHNEIDER BUSINESS ACTIVITIES SECTION 1162 COURT STNE SALEM OR johamla.riemenschneider@doj.state.or.us PUC STAFF--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STEPHANIE S ANDRUS BUSINESS ACTIVITIES SECTION 1162 COURT ST NE SALEM OR stephanie.andrus@state.or.us T-MOBILE USA INC TERIOHTA SE 38TH ST BELLEVUE A teri.ohta@t-mobile.com TDS TELECOM ESTERN REGION GAIL LONG POBOX 1566 OREGON CITY OR gail.long@tdstelecom.com 6

8 Stephen Athanson Regulatory Counsel TRACFONE IRELESS INC N th Avenue Miami, FL (305)

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF OREGON UM 1481 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

1 2 3 BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF OREGON UM 1481 4 5 6 7 8 9 In the Matter of PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF OREGON Staff investigation of the Oregon Universal Service Fund JOINT MOTION OF FRONTIER,