FCC Pauses Lifeline Voice Phase-Out and Mobile Data Changes

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) issued a waiver pausing both the phase-out of Lifeline program support for voice-only services and changes to the Lifeline minimum service standards.  The Bureau finds good cause to pause these adjustments for a year because the FCC is undergoing a rulemaking proceeding that seeks comment on these issues and could result in changes to the Lifeline program. The 2026 Lifeline NPRM launched a comprehensive review of the Lifeline program and seeks comment on support for voice-only service and the minimum service standards and their updated mechanisms. In the NPRM, the FCC asked whether it should maintain voice-only service support at the current $5.25 amount and the justifications for doing so, including “[h]ow vital is voice service to consumers’ ability to access public safety resources or to participate in today’s society” and whether these subscribers would be able to fulfill these needs through alternative services. The FCC also requested comment on Lifeline minimum service standards, including whether the current minimum service standards meet the needs of Lifeline subscribers, increasing minimum service standards could lead to prohibitively expensive plans or providers leaving the program, update mechanisms should exist, and these mechanisms should update the minimum service standards at set or variable amounts, among other issues