D.C. Circuit Denies Petition for Review of Lifeline Order

The National Lifeline Association challenged the Federal Communications Commission's November 2019 Lifeline order which restored the role of states in designating eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) to participate in the Lifeline program, clarified the obligations of participating carriers, and took steps to improve compliance by Lifeline ETCs and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the program. The issue in this case concerns support payments to ETCs for prepaid Lifeline subscribers in cure periods because of their non-usage of the service. The National Lifeline Association requested a declaratory ruling that Lifeline ETCs are permitted to seek reimbursement for all Lifeline-eligible subscribers served as of the first day of the month, including those subscribers in an applicable 15-day cure period following 30 days of non-usage. The court ruled: "Petitioner’s statutory argument – that the Commission’s interpretation of its applicable rules violates 47 U.S.C. § 214(e) – is foreclosed because Petitioner did not raise this claim with the FCC in the first instance. We also reject Petitioner’s challenge to the FCC’s interpretation of § 54.407. The Commission’s position is compelled by the unambiguous terms of the rules. We therefore find no merit in Petitioner’s claim because it rests on an untenable construction of the disputed rules. Finally, we find no merit in any of the other claims before the court. We therefore dismiss the Petition for Review as to Petitioner’s statutory argument and deny all other claims."